Blade of the Fury
by Commander Argus
Summary: The Trinity Sitch, Book 3  the Sequel to Soulmates of the Fury. Kim and Ron grow deeper in love while a new destiny is revealed  Chapter 22 COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

**_The Trinity Sitch -Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Prologue**

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_Author's note: As book 3, this story is a chapter in a continuing saga. There may be references here to the first two books, They Say Everyone Has a Twin and Soulmates of the Fury._

_I have also started a forum and I'll welcome any questions you might have._

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The Void.

Space, when you get far enough away from a star system is far more vast, far more dark and far more lonely than most people ever realized. This far out the only light came only from the distant, twinkling stars. That was all. Unless your starship was able to get close enough to one, you still could not see things like sparkling nebulae or the other sights many considered to be the most beautiful in the cosmos without powerful telescopes.

In the inky twilight of deep space, the only clue one had that a ship was near was the series of windows set into the hull. Otherwise it would only be a darkened shadow blotting out some of the stars.

Most people spent the majority of their lives on or near planets. With a local sun to shine on the multitude of interstellar vehicles anyone could make out the various shapes, details and colors that identified the tools man had created to carry them from shining orb to shining orb.

With the external sensors telling them they were truly alone in that part of the cosmos, the _U.S.S. Reynolds_ had all of her running lights turned off. If another starship was in the vicinity, they would under normal conditions turn on a series of floodlights that would illuminate her name plate and her registry numbers. Considering the war with Arkonia was long over, that had become standard practice and was actually a legal protocol, even though the two ships would have long ago exchanged digital 'handshakes' between their artificial intelligences.

Despite her military name, the _Reynolds_ was now a privately owned starship. At two-hundred fifty feet long, she was not a large ship as such things went. Long and lean, with a tapering oval shaped forward hull she was once a UFSA corvette, smaller than a standard destroyer but faster and more maneuverable, carrying weapons with a surprising punch. For her current owner's purposes, she had been fitted with three oversized ion ram scoops and two large, high performance engines utilizing the latest advances in ion-lock-in technology.

Doctor Susan Rokowski, captain of the ship and senior researcher for Marsh Industries sat in her swiveling command seat behind the pilot's positions on the small bridge. At the touch of a control on the arm of the complicated acceleration lounge, shutters on the five long, sloping windows rolled up into their housings, giving her a view of the distant pinpoints of light that originated from stars and other celestial objects. A holographic grid of fine, green lines was superimposed on the view, allowing her to call up a computerized description and detailed coordinates for any of those lights she chose.

"Ion drive is at one-hundred percent charge and is ready on stand-by" the copilot reported.

Rokowski, a striking woman in her late thirties checked off a few notes on the data screen mounted to her left. "Telewarp calculations have been laid into the navigation system." She said. Trying to fight down the butterflies in her stomach, she checked her harness for what must have been the tenth time since she secured it.

"Load master is reporting all cargo is secure for the test." The copilot relayed.

"Structural integrity at one-hundred percent." The science officer reported from his station off to the side.

"All on-board sensors are online and are recording." The pilot, a blonde woman with a severe haircut and the fine lines on her face that denoted an experience spacer said.

"We have received telemetry from the sensor buoy we deployed. The signal is in full operation and the data is being relayed back to Firestone." The communications officer said, referring to the nearest planetary system, where one of Earths older and best established colonies was located.

_Now or never_, Susan thought. "Okay, let's move to stage one. Initiate Hyperwarp jump."

At her order the ship began to move. The two engines flared to life, two points of light as bright as the sun, burning a brilliant yellow as the excited ions were converted to thrust. The scoops, two mounted above the engines, the third beneath the ship just behind the number two cargo elevator, glowed bluish white as they cast an invisible magnetic field to capture free-floating ion particles. The gray-silver exterior of the ship was briefly illuminated by their light as it started moving, slowly at first but gathering speed. In moments the ship was approaching relativistic speeds.

An number of devices deployed along the hull, casting their energies about the ship, creating a ghostly image of it just in front of the ship. As the Reynolds passed the speed of light, the image merged with it in a brilliant flash of energy and she was cast into the mysterious realm of hyperspace.

"We have achieved cruising speed of thirty plus Hyperwarp." The pilot reported, indicating the ship was now traveling at a speed that in relativistic terms would be six-hundred times the speed of light.

"Prepare for stage two." Rokowski ordered.

"Hyperwarp drive ready for stage two." The pilot responded.

"Telewarp matrix charged and ready." The science officer said.

"Telemetry is good." The communications officer reported.

"Implement stage two." Rokowski said, gripping the leather arms of her seat.

"Chronal damping change-over in five, four, three, two, one…"

The ship surged as more power coursed through the engines than ever before. They were pushed back in their seats as the acceleration overcame the ability of the artificial gravity field to compensate. There was a sudden sensation of being stretched, much like the feeling one had when passing the Hyperwarp barrier for the first time on an unshielded ship, only multiplied by a factor of one-hundred.

The crew may have spoken, but there was no way to hear them as they crossed into a realm of theoretical space only guessed at mere years before. Space and time bent as the U.S.S. Reynolds existed for a split moment in all of space and time. The continuum resolved itself until the ship was stretched from the point where it entered hyperspace to it's target on the far side of the spiral arm. They felt for a moment like a rubber band stretched too far suddenly released on one end, hurling toward the other as the pent up energy stored in it unfurled.

The sense of acceleration was gone as quickly as it began. Susan Rokowski looked around the bridge of her ship and hit the release of her harness in a moment of panic. She rolled to the side and emptied the contents of her stomach on the clean deck, noting with detached interest that two other crew members were doing the exact same thing.

Slowly and weakly she pulled herself back into her seat. She was expecting this, but the reality of it was stronger than she expected. There were well documented reports of early space explorers doing the very same thing the first time they entered 'normal' hyperspace.

"Report." She said, wiping her mouth with a cloth she produced from a pocket on her jumpsuit. "Lt. Casman? Morgan?"

"Um. Yeah, I'm okay Doctor Rokowski." She said, a little more shaken than she thought she would be. Regaining some of her composure, she punched a few keys on her computer console. "We are precisely at the target coordinates." She turned toward the scientist. "The computer performed exactly as programmed, we have dropped out of hyperspace and are now stationary. Susan! We did it!"

Doctor Rokowski allowed herself a small smile. Three years of work and they had done it! In the space of a moment they had crossed more distance than any ship in history!

"Something is wrong." The science officer said, concern in his voice.

"What is it? Have we sustained a loss of structural integrity?"

"No ma'am. We have some minor stress on the secondary frame but that is still within design parameters. What I'm detecting is a local gravity well. I'm initiating a full sensor sweep."

A gravity well? That wasn't possible. The target region had been selected mainly because there was nothing there. Less than nothing. They had deliberately traveled away from the galactic plane, on the outside chance their calculations had been off in order to prevent them dropping out inside a mass."

"I am activating control thrusters to maintain our position." Lt. Casman said, responding to the pull of the unknown source of gravity.

"That's not right!" the science officer said.

"What isn't right?" Doctor Rokowski asked, getting up from her seat. "Get somebody up here to clean this up." She groused as she barely missed stepping in her own sick.

The science officer, Timothy Peterson, punched up a new holographic schematic. A globe resolved itself in the air above them.

"It's a planet! That's what I can't figure. We're nowhere near a star. There is literally nothing for it to orbit out here."

"A rogue planet? All of our precautions and we Tele-warp right to an uncharted rogue?"

"So it would seem, except all documented rogues are actually in a wide orbit around a larger center of gravity. If my readings are correct, this one is stationary in relation to the galactic center. That's what I'm so confused about. That's a theoretical impossibility."

"I'm glad you put it that way, Teep. Unless there's something we're not seeing, here's proof that theory is incorrect." She looked at the hologram again, then out the large windows. Even the stars were not visible out here. All they could see was the hazy, indistinct disk of the Milky Way dominating half the cosmos, from their perspective. The planet was hidden against the impenetrable black of the great void. Still, somehow her imagination formed a picture of a lightless blot against the heavens.

Intense curiosity surged in Susan Rokowski, but she knew she had a job to do. While the U.S.S. Reynolds could land on the planet, their ship was a dedicated test-bed for the new Tele-warp drive, not an exploration vessel. "Okay, Teep. Record the coordinates. Lt. Casman, we're not in any danger of being pulled into the gravity well, are we?"

"No ma'am. The AI reports we're at stable station-keeping. We are twenty-two point five planetary diameters out and the pull at this distance is negligible. We can insert for a standard orbit, but that is not currently necessary."

"Maintain station-keeping. Teep, start our calculations for a return jump. Once that is complete, run a standard examination protocol for the rogue. Our time-table will allow about two hours to study it from this position."

"Yes ma'am." He said, not even trying to hide the disappointment in his voice, his own curiosity surging. Still, like her, he was a professional. This far out there was no way to communicate with home and they had an otherwise smashing success to report.

With little more to do than watch and enter some note into her computer, Doctor Susan Rokowski wondered if they would name the mysterious body Rokowski's world. She touched her screen to make her official report.

"Senior Researcher's log, Twenty-four, November, Twenty-four Seventy-nine…"

* * *

Doctor James T. Possible had reached a point in his study of the mysterious starship named the _X.S.S. Trinity_ that left him severely nervous. After two years of intense study he had learned all it was possible to learn about it without actually taking it apart. Every measurement, every test they could think of had been run. They even had several operating Ion engines based upon his work, but they remained crude copies of the advanced drive the ship contained. They could put one of his earlier rockets into orbit with ease, but they were years away from being able to propel a craft past the speed of light. Yet, here was a ship that could not only break that barrier, but travel at speeds great enough to reach further than most Earth-bound telescopes could see. 

Disassembling even a simple system on the ship presented a serious problem. Many of the tools used to construct the craft simply had not been invented yet. That meant two things: first, they had to recruit the best minds in order to create devices that would not damage the delicate interior. That also meant involving more and more people in what could be considered one of the biggest secrets in the world. Security at the center was at an all-time high.

It didn't help that some of the greatest scientific minds in the world had, shall we say, a rather tenuous hold on sanity.

Like he would trust Drew Lipski to assist with the _Trinity Project_. No, his old college friend may have had the technical genius to reverse-engineer the technology, but he would always have, in the back of his mind, some plot to use what they had learned to take over the world.

Two of his assistants he was able to bring in with no fear. For one, they both had seen the ship in action. For another, one of them he would trust with his life. The other, a young woman named Liz Evans he didn't know quite as well, but in the last two years he had grown to trust her well enough. She had an intellect that actually rivaled the first, finishing her degree in advanced aerospace physics at Middleton University in only the greater part of those intervening years.

The first, a largish African-American boy, wasn't even old enough to drive, yet now held a doctorate in computer cybernetics.

Wade Load could not legally operate a car, but he had mastered piloting the _Trinity_ manually already.

The work was slow-going. They had identified several areas they wanted to gain access to first. One of those was the internal workings of the Ion Ram. They were essentially Broussard collectors, magnetic projectors that would create a force-field that would gather free-floating ions that powered the engines. There was a powerful fusion reactor buried inside the ship, but it only provided enough power for lift-off, acting as a primer for ion-reaction that propelled the craft.

"I wish it were as simple as unbolting the access panels." Wade was saying, "but it seems the individuals cowling pieces were joined by some process we can only currently guess at."

"It's looking more and more like we are going to have to cut something." Dr. Possible said with a frown.

"I hope not. We don't know what we might damage if we start doing that. Somehow I don't think welding the plates back together will be good enough."

"I agree, Wade, but we may have no choice if we want to get into it. What does the AI say?"

"Not much that's useful." He answered, frowning. "It's like she doesn't want people cutting into her. She knows we really don't know what we're doing."

"You make it sound like the ship doesn't trust us."

"Well, part of the problem is the AI is immature. The original one was lost when the computer core crashed, so this one was loaded as a template from another ship, and it's not entirely compatible with the _Trinity_ yet."

"So it's a matter of getting it…"

"Her. The _Trinity_ has a female personality." Wade corrected.

"It's a matter of getting _her_ to trust us?" Dr. Possible's eyebrows flattened out in frustration. If there was one thing his powerful intellect couldn't fully comprehend, it was the female mind.

"Essentially, yes. Then there's the problem of whether the tools we need are actually recorded in her memory. A modern computer doesn't always have the plans for a screwdriver in it."

Liz piped up. "Maybe I could get Max to use his powers. He could cut through one of those panels, then put it back like it had never been removed." Dr. Possible and Wade were two of the few people that knew Liz' husband, Max Evans, was a genetically engineered human clone containing the essence of an alien king. The creators of his body had included special powers that allowed him to manipulate the molecular structure of non-organic objects.

"That's a pretty good idea, but for right now it's one we may have to forego. Getting him security clearance these days would involve bringing more people into his secret than he may be comfortable with. Keep that in mind in case we don't make any more progress."

A technician entered their lab, carrying something gingerly in a clean cloth. "Dr. Possible, we found something interesting in the engine room." He held the object at arms length, gently passing it to the older scientist.

It looked like it was made of brass, but it was lighter than and object that size would be if it was made of the ancient metal.

"How did you get this loose?" he asked.

"We didn't have to. We took an access panel off that was secured with ordinary bolts. That was sitting inside loose, just outside one of the internal engine cowlings."

Dr. Possible examined the plate. It was crusted with grime, but he could tell it had some kind of writing on it. He carefully carried it to a table and started wiping it with the rag. The grease slowly gave way, revealing the script.

"Keel laid August Fifteenth, twenty-four sixty. That's interesting, so if this is the builder's plate for the ship, we now know when it was actually built" he said for his colleague's benefit. He scrubbed more of the black away. "_Hendrickson_ Class Corvette, huh, a military ship after all. I would have thought it was built as a yacht, considering the lack of weapons."

"What else does it say?" Wade asked, looking over his shoulder.

He wiped the last of the grease away, revealing the name the ship had been first christened with. "_U.S.S. Reynolds_…"


	2. Tempest Simia

_Disclaimer: Steve Loter and Company own KP and her friends. May Disney be blessed in their infinite wisdom to continue Kim Possible. Since there will now be a Season 4, I hereby amend all my works to say the exist in a universe that is the same as what is on TV up to the end of So the Drama. Whether there is any resemblence to Season 4 is purely coincidental (and yes, I will scream BOOYAH if any of my ideas get used - hey, that would be the ultimate compliment!)_

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_The Trinity Sitch – Book 3: Blade of the Fury_

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Chapter 1: Tempest Simia

Dark eyes swept over the dim expanse of the Tri-City Museum's Hall of History. Artificially enhanced senses stretched forth, assuring the black clad figure descending for the ceiling the room was devoid of any opposition. With almost animal-like glee he reached for the odd little statue resting exposed on its own pedestal. His hair covered hands were about to close on the object when an all-too-familiar voice echoed through the hall.

"Back off, Monkey Fist!"

He stopped short of his prize and blinked in confusion, as if it was another well known voice he was expecting.

"Oh, super! If it isn't the Arch Bumbler!" he dropped to the floor, adopting a battle ready stance.

Ron Stoppable stood in the doorway, "At least I've got human hands and feet." He taunted as he assumed his Monkey Kung Fu stance.

"Too bad! I rather fancied a real challenge." Fist responded as he charged. He barreled right up to Ron, changing his attack at the last instant to a combination of blows using both his hands and his genetically modified chimpanzee feet.

Ron blocked all of it, launching his own attack, landing a glancing blow on his opponent's mid-section. That was enough for Fist, who leaped startlingly high into a lighting cornice. His insane laughter filled the air as he leaped from fixture to fixture, finally coming to rest on the fossilized skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He looked down at his nemesis, who was sporting a devilish smile. He pulled something from his pocket and threw it like a Japanese throwing star.

Fist flinched, but he was not the target. The star described a pink blur, striking the petrified skeleton just above the knee joint with a tiny but audible "Hee-yah!" At first, nothing happened. Then a tiny pin popped loose, followed by the heavy femur.

The gi clad man/monkey felt the support go out from under him as the entire display crashed to the floor. He ended up in the open jaws of the eons-deceased monster, the upper jaw crashing down on him, pinning him and narrowly missing taking his head clean off. Ron caught the star in his fingertips and it relaxed into a little pink naked mole rat. They bowed to each other before Rufus returned to his pocket.

"Booyah!" Ron shouted "Say uncle, Monkey, or Monkey's Uncle, I'll take either one!"

"I don't think so, fool!" Fist growled as he struggled to push the teeth open.

Ron noticed motion out of the corner of his eye a moment too late as a massive but silent shape swept him off the floor, pinning him against a display case. Human eyes glared at him from behind a samurai helmet mask but the legs the figure stood on and the arms that held him fast were that of a gorilla!

"Monkey Fist and DNAmy working together? WRONGSICK!" He took advantage of her momentary lapse of concentration and kicked outward with both feet, breaking her loose. Off balance, she plowed right into a display of stuffed black dodo birds, sending feathers and preserved bird parts flying in every direction.

"I practically gift wrap him for you and you let him get away?" Fist groused as he finally pulled himself free of the Rex skull.

"Sorry, Monkey Puddin Pie! He's strong for such a little meanie!"

"Got that right, lady! Rondo came to play!" He dropped into a crouch and extended a fist while he twisted his neck around, producing a crackling sound with his neck bones.

"Oh, bring it, you worthless buffoon." Fist taunted. "You cannot hold off both of us all night!"

"It's not just me, Fisk!" Ron responded with a grin.

"As if I am supposed to be surprised you cheerleader/mate is sneaking up behind me!"

"What? How?" Kim stammered as both human/ape hybrids turned toward her.

"A ninja you are not." He hissed wickedly. "But I am!" His leg shot out, delivering a crushing blow to her midsection. She sailed across the room, landing in an open Egyptian sarcophagus. Before she could jump free, Amy slammed it shut, trapping her inside.

"KP!" Ron screamed, covering half the distance in a single leap.

He never reached her. Sensing an opening, Monkey Fist clotheslined him with his leg, followed by a vicious chop to the neck. Ron crumpled to the floor in a pile of Club Banana mission gear."

"Quick, grab the goodie before Kimmie's little cuddle buddy wakes up!"

Monkey fist quickly complied, grabbing the strange object and running for the entrance, followed closely by Amy. "What was he doing here anyway?" he asked as they escaped, as though for some reason he expected to face only Kim Possible.

* * *

Ron got up gingerly, the dull pain in his neck making him get up slowly. 

"Get me out of here." A muffled voice said from across the room.

He glanced around the hall, trying to tell where it was coming from.

"Get me out!" The voice repeated with a snarl. This time he could tell for certain that it came from the sarcophagus. He screamed, waking Rufus from his slumber.

"Talking mummy!" He shrieked, backing away from the stylized coffin.

"RON!" The voice was now clearly furious.

"It knows my name! I'm cursed, CURSED!" he screamed as he ducked behind another exhibit. He poked his head out tentatively as his wristwatch beeped.

_BEEP-BEEP-DE-BEEP!_

Automatically he touched the receive button. A three dimensional close-up of Kim's enraged features hovered inches from his nose.

"Open the sarcophagus, Ron." She said in a low voice.

He cringed, the moments before he was knocked out rushing back to him. Managing a weak smile he freed his fiancé from the carven box. Judging from the light streaming in from above it was now daytime, meaning she spent half the night and most of the morning trapped in there and it obviously wasn't the most comfortable place to be, considering her sweat dampened hair and sour expression.

The curator rushed in, hurrying toward the two young adults. "Are the two of you okay?"

"Nothing a good hot shower won't fix." She said, sniffing the sleeve of her crop-top.

"I'm afraid we've got bad news on the headless monkey front, sir." Ron said.

The man looked genuinely surprised until Kim explained, "It's no big! When Wade got word Monkey Fist was finally making his move on the Tempus Simia, he called ahead and had the night staff switch it for the replica they put out when the real one is being cleaned or examined."

"That's a relief." The balding man with a thin handlebar mustache said. "I was worried you meant he got past even that. Thanks to Team Possible, the idol is safely locked in our vault. Turning, he led them down a deftly concealed passage. "If the idol fell into the wrong hands and is reunited with its…its…"

"Is something wrong?" Kim asked.

"No, I just had the strongest feeling Mr. Stoppable was going to say something."

Ron raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "If it's got something to do with monkeys, then it's probably unspeakably evil." He said cryptically.

"Precisely" he replied, favoring the younger man with a rather odd look.

The passageway ended at a large room full of work benches, microscopes and other devices for cleaning or studying the museum's artifacts. At the read was the polished steel door of the vault. The curator tapped a code into the pad and ran his ID card through a slot set right beside it. After a few moments the heavy door swung aside.

Treasures of all descriptions lined the shelves, some valuable due to their construction, some seemingly not so, but all valuable because of their history. He walked right up to a space identified only by a number, picking up the headless stone idol and holding it out to Kim.

"The Tempus Simia Idol is purported to have dark mystical powers." He said with gravity.

"Considering this thing is called the 'Time Monkey' I've got a pretty good idea what it might do." Kim said, accepting the object and looking at it closely.

"An apt, if crude translation of the name. It was found with an inscription saying, in essence, the bearer of the complete and functioning idol would be like a lord over time."

"Like Doctor Who?" Ron asked cheerily.

"What?" Kim and the other man asked in unison.

"No, Who."

"Huh?"

"Who!"

"RON!"

"Hey, it's just a show on BBC. Main guy's called just 'the Doctor' and he flies around through time in this thing that looks like a really old phone booth."

"We are so not going to have cable when we get our own place!" Kim growled. Ron responded by sticking his tongue out at her as she passed the idol to him. "Be careful, Ron. We have no idea what might happen if this thing gets broken."

He opened his mouth to respond but nothing escaped his lips before the blinding flash of red light that erupted as the Tempus Simia touched his hands burst forth. A wave of force sent Kim and the curator slamming into the far wall of the vault, knocking the man out and burying Kim in a pile of historic trinkets.

* * *

Visions and voices swirled around him. Some he knew, some were merely familiar. There was Monkey Fist, then Sherry from when she was still Shego. Drakken's voice fluttered by, saying "Monkey Power Rules!" Which seemed much more like something Monkey Fist would say, not the mad blue scientist. Finally, once voice, more distinct from the rest proclaimed, "Ron, I couldn't save the world without you!" 

He seemed to be traveling though an endless tunnel, visions of events that he was certain never happened but were oddly familiar floating by.

Suddenly he felt as if his body was struck by a crashing wave, sending him tumbling along, unable to stop or ever right himself. He looked again at the maelstrom of visions.

Ron Stoppable knew what they all meant!

As quickly as it started, it was over. In one instant he was tumbling through space and time, the next he was back in the vault, holding the Tempus Simia in his hands.

Momentarily disconcerted, he had to scramble to keep from dropping it. As he recovered an odd thought bubbled to the forefront of his mind. _At least now I know why I hate meat cakes!_

"KP!" He shouted, setting the statue aside as he rushed to her aid.

"I'm fine." She said. "Ron, what happened? Are you Okay?"

"I…uh…I, yeah, I'm fine! Kim! I think Monkey Fist went after the Time Monkey before! Then we stopped him. Well, actually, we stopped Shego, who stayed evil right till the end!"

"I know, Ron."

"You knew about this?"

"Not all the specific details, but I know some of the big picture."

"How did?..."

"Sherry started to remember some of the details and she described them to me a couple years ago while the FBI had you prisoner." She looked at him, worried he would be upset that she hadn't told him. The issue about what she apparently did to Shego in that timeline bothered her.

His mind was too occupied with other things to worry about her oversight. "Kim that thing is too dangerous. It has to be destroyed!"

"We can't do that!" The curator said. "It technically belongs to the Japanese government. If something were to happen to it, there would be an international incident." He rubbed the bump on his head painfully.

"You don't understand!" Ron pleaded, starting to sound more desperate. "This can all happen again if Fist is after it! This thing allows you to travel to any point in time. Do you know what that means?"

The older man's hands closed on the statue. "I can assure you, Mr. Stoppable, the statue will not leave this vault until the proper authorities can be consulted."

"But Monkey Fist won't fall for the fake for long. He'll just keep coming back for it again and again until he has it!"

"Then this is a case for real professionals. Perhaps Global Justice will have better luck capturing this criminal than you two did. Now I think it is time for the two of you to leave so my staff can clean up this mess!'' He started shooing the two twenty-year-olds out of the vault.

Ron started to speak again but was dragged out by a glowering Kim. "Come on, Ron. We need to talk to Wade." The curator's words stung her pride, especially considering her track record compared to GJ.

He watched the two leave and carefully sealed up the vault. He then pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number from memory.

"It's me…yes…yes he did…it happened when he touched it, just like you said it would…No, but he did seem to remember some other things…no, this had something to do with the idol itself. He started rambling about having to destroy it…yes…no, nothing about that…of course, I understand."

He cancelled the call, carefully erasing the number from the phone's memory.

* * *

"…and the worst part was Mom force feeding me lamb and cabbage stew and meat cakes." 

"Ron, what about the idol?"

"Oh, well, I sort of tossed Drakken across the room…"

"Uh, yeah, right."

"I did! Don't ask me how I did it, I just grabbed him by the wrist and tossed him like a sack of potatoes. Then I started going Monkey Kung Fu on all those Shego statues, which started falling over, then they knocked the idol across the room, smashing it to a hundred pieces. Next thing you know, everything just sort of snaps back to normal and we forget it ever happened."

"Then why, if everything that happened before the idol was smashed never really happened in the first place, how do you remember it and why do I feel so very weird about the fight today?"

"I don't know, maybe it's like some sort of cosmic MP3 recorder. It records all this stuff that happens, whether it gets wiped out in time or not, and that's what I got a flash on. I guess my Monkey Power short circuited it somehow and I got all those memories."

"That makes sense, I think." She said, frowning.

"Kim, what else did Sherry tell you about what happened?"

She looked at him and sighed. She didn't want to talk about it but she didn't want to keep anything from him, no matter whether it might hurt him of both of them. She also knew if he had learned the whole story, he would know he witnessed it first-hand in the now-defunct timeline.

"She told me I killed the Future Shego as we were being drawn up into the vortex after you destroyed the monkey. She didn't say how, she just left it at that."

Ron stopped and stood right in front of Kim. "Kim, have you been carrying that around with you for two years?"

She looked down and nodded.

He took her face in his hands and gently drew her eyes up to meet his. "Kim, I remember it now as if I was there. In effect, I was. There was nothing else you could do. She was trying to kill you as we entered the vortex. You fought back and she fell out a window that Drakken had smashed open earlier. It was an accident and God knows what might have happened if she killed you before we came back. That might have destroyed the universe itself if you couldn't return to this timeline."

"I know Ron, I know. Logically I never even did it. That Shego doesn't exist and won't now. She never got the chance to turn around like Sherry did. It's just sobering to know I have the capacity to do that."

"Look at it this way. Maybe with her powers she survived that after all until that world ceased to exist. You know, you kicked her into an electrical tower, causing it to collapse on top of her and all she got out of it was a really bad hair day."

Kim chuckled, remembering her being loaded into the police van, a look on her face that would melt titanium. "I hope you're right, Ron. I don't want to be forced to do something like that in order to save the world."

"Then don't worry about it until it happens. It may, one day. You never know." He took her hand and they resumed walking back to their car.

"You know, Ron, I can't get over your wicked baddage back there!" She rested her head on his shoulder as they left, wondering why he was giggling.

* * *

Monkey Fist stared at the stone, lost in thought. 

"So what does that little thing do, sweet'ums?" Amy asked, pulling the rest of the armor off her less-than-svelte frame.

"Hhmm?" he looked up at her for a moment. "I haven't the foggiest notion. Somehow it seems I should, but my mind is a complete blank."

"I thought you knew all about this nasty monkey stuff?"

"I do, but until that old wizard asked me to get this thing I'd never heard of it."

"You do know what the name means, don't you?"

"Why don't you enlighten me." He said, his expression growing a little more sour.

"Well, basically it's Latin. I am a scientist, you know."

"Yes, my dear, as you remind me so often." His dark eyes rolled up into his head.

"Well, Tempus means time. Simia means Monkey or Ape. It's the Time Monkey."

"Well isn't that jolly good. So why does an idol that obviously has Japanese characteristics have a Latin name?"

"I don't know. Maybe the people who found it last named it that. Have any guesses about how it works?"

"I would surmise it may have something to do with the missing head. Beyond that, I will have to consult some ancient texts to see if this is mentioned. In the mean time we must deliver this to the old man. Once he has lived up to his end of the bargain, we will liberate it once more and find out what it really does."

"I love it when you scheme, sweet cheeks!"

"Please don't call me that."


	3. Stranger in a Strange Land

_Disclaimer: If you saw it on TV, Disney owns it. If you didn't, I probably made it up. I'm funny that way.**

* * *

The Trinity Sitch: Book 2 - Blade of the Fury**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Stranger in a Strange Land**

* * *

He wasn't sure he could even see as he opened his eyes. There was a moment of panic, thinking he was blind. Slowly, the dying embers of a fire in a central pit could be made out. Beside the faint orange glow, the room was pitch black. The place smelled of stone, smoke and tanned hides. He became aware that he was on a soft mattress set into the floor, covered with some sort of hide blanket. A log split in the fireplace sending a small shower of sparks floating around in the pit, illuminating more of the room. He realized he wasn't alone. The sleeping pit was large and at least two other people were curled up in the layers of furry blankets. They were only a few feet away from him and he could feel their body heat.

Despite the dying fire, the room was rather cool. Sitting up, he touched a wall, discovering he was actually in a chamber made either of rough hewn stone or even in a cave. He suddenly realized he had no idea where he was, nor why he was there. His mind seemed clouded. His surroundings were clearly not familiar; they were definitely not what he was accustomed to. For some reason he couldn't think of what was familiar. Heedless of the chill, he threw off the blanket and stood on the cold stone floor beside the sleeping pit. The floor was not only cool; it was cold to his bare feet. The pit itself was strange. Why a pit and not a bed? The pit was round, at least where he was getting out, and the lip was smoothed over so there wasn't a sharp edge.

By feeling his way along the wall, he made his way out of the sleeping room into the main room of the home. This room at least seemed a little more proper. Windows let the starlight in, illuminating the wooden walls and Spartan furnishings of the hovel. The home was built into the side of a hill; the sleeping room a natural cave most likely.

He suddenly realized he was extremely cold since he was only wearing short pants made of some hide. He cast about for a moment, not quite knowing exactly what other clothing he was looking for. He was sorry he hadn't thought to wrap one of the hide blankets around him. There were a number of wooden chests in the room but as he moved to inspect one a flickering light startled him.

A woman with thick, sleep tangled brown hair was standing in the door leading to the bed. She had one of the blankets wrapped around her, holding it closed with one hand. In the other hand was a tallow candle. The woman was young, probably in her mid twenties and pretty in a sort of unkempt way. Probably the lack of make-up, he thought. Why did he think that?

"Ben shadda ye to no yetno." She said, gesturing with the candle. She waved it back toward the bedroom. "No yetno shin to slyens."

He had no idea what she was saying. Was the mental lethargy he was feeling clouding his mind to the degree it was affecting how he understood speech? No, he simply didn't know the language she was speaking. She looked frustrated for a moment then stepped up to him, taking his hand. She let the blanket go and he noticed she was almost as unclothed as he was. Not knowing what else to do, he let her lead him back to the bed. He lay down, the warmth of her body pleasing as she momentarily brushed against him. She covered him with the blankets he had been under and went to retrieve her own blanket. Moments later she returned, crawling under the blankets with the other figure that he could now see by the candlelight. She blew out the flame and the room returned to blackness.

Am I a prisoner? No, she certainly didn't seem to be holding him against his will. It seemed more like she was concerned for his welfare. The walls of the outer room were rather crude, though he didn't know what he was comparing that against. They didn't seem to be any sort of prison. Perhaps she had been trying to tell him that this was no hour for man or beast to be up and about. He didn't know exactly why, but he knew these surroundings were more primitive than he was accustomed to. The idea with the communal bed must be to conserve heat. He was still lost in thought, trying to figure out what was going on when he finally drifted back to sleep.

Soft sounds awakened him later. Morning light could be seen drifting through the edges of the closed door, giving the room the look of twilight. It was just after dawn and the room was even colder than it had been during the night as the fire had finally given up the ghost. He started to sit up and realized what had awakened him.

The woman, who was still wearing only a thick cotton night shirt, was kneeling to his side, shaking him as if to waken him. He turned to her slowly, keeping himself covered. She touched his cheek and suddenly looked distressed. She pulled up the covers and pressed close to him, her warmth intense. He didn't know quite how to react, thinking she might be the wife of the other man still sleeping nearby. Somehow he felt it wasn't normal for a strange woman to crawl into a bed with him, body warmth or not.

"Benve toi no yetwon cold." She whispered. 'Cold' she had said. No, the word she said was 'teven'. He simply understood it to mean cold. He replayed what she had said in his head, the meaning becoming suddenly clearer. 'You are too cold.' He was sure that's what she had said.

Thinking hard, he tried to respond. Before he could form a response, the man rose from his place in the bed, dressed in a simple tunic. For a moment he thought there would be some problem, his being in bed with his mate or wife, but the man just smiled and said, "He's awake now." He was still speaking the odd language, but it was starting to make more sense. That was so strange. The night before, he had been convinced he didn't know their language. Now, the more he heard of it, the clearer it became.

The man left the room. He was just getting used to the feeling of the woman pressing at his side, apparently warming him when she surprised him by kissing him. Her lips pressed against his as she embraced him.

Not knowing why, he rolled away from her. "I'm sorry, I mean, no offense, but this isn't right."

The woman simply looked confused. He suddenly realized he had spoken in English. Yes, it was English. He remembered that. His own language he knew was called English. Thinking carefully, he spoke in what he was believed to be her language. "Not right, no offend please."

She smiled broadly at him, sitting up in the bed. "You are soul-mated to another, then." She said as a matter of fact. Yes, that was true. He knew in his heart that was true, though try as he might he couldn't remember anything about his 'soul-mate'. "I am mated, but not soul-mated." She indicated the man in the other room. "I understand, I'm not offended." She looked at him quizzically, looking at him from head to toe. He was almost certain she licked her lips. "Stranger, what is your name?"

He stopped suddenly. What was his name? After a moment, words without their complete meaning sprang to his mind. It was his name, but it did not have the familiarity it was supposed to. "Argus, Neil…Argus."

The woman was already shrugging into an over tunic, running into the other room to speak to the man. He was still having trouble understanding them when they spoke more quickly. Yes, Neil was definitely his name. What were they saying now? He heard his name, then another. They were mispronouncing his last name with something that sounded like Arcus. He definitely heard it right. His accent must be giving them trouble. They seemed to be referring to him as Arcus Neil. That or they were talking about somebody called Arcus Oray. The way they were using the names, he was certain they were referring to someone else as well as him.

There was another tunic folded on the end of the bed. The sleeping pit was about fifteen feet across, the mattress made of some cotton like material and stuffed with something soft. Fur or feathers; he didn't know. He pulled on the brown, rough stitched tunic, mindful that he was still only partially dressed, at least as he found familiar.

Dressed, he walked out into the main room. "Come, eat." The man gestured at the table they were sitting at. He was moderately muscular, his face somewhat plain. Neil wondered if the man ever smiled, his face so blank. He was somewhat older than his wife (mate? girlfriend?) He dug into the slab of meat they had given him. He was certainly extremely hungry.

"How did I get here?" he finally asked between bites.

"Yavvi found you out in the fields." He said as he gestured to the woman. She was pulling her fingers through her thick, wavy brown hair between bites of her own breakfast. "She thought you had been injured, though there was no mark on you. We have no idea what became of your clothing."

"I was…naked?"

"Yes. You slept for three days, until she found you wandering about the house last night. Oh, my manners, I'm Torvik. We're farmers."

"Torvik is too modest," Yavvi interrupted. "He is the chief farmer of the southern lands of Lord Moondagan, praise _Effurien_!" She absolutely beamed as she made the pronouncement.

"I don't want to seem stupid, but where exactly am I?"

Torvik drew out a shape with his finger on the open space of the table. "We are in the nation of Dagan. It is a large island, the largest one known. We are near the center, here, in the Prefecture of Lord Tanith Moondagan."

None of the names meant anything to him. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea where he had come from. They continued to eat in silence, Yavvi looking at both men equally. Neil started to wonder why her man wasn't becoming jealous by the attention the young woman was paying him. He couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes.

It turned out to be the middle of winter. With no crops to tend and full winter's worth of stores put up, all they had to do was tend to their livestock. There were a number of beasts that stood as high as his shoulder; Torvik called them yussek. There was also a flock of wooly creatures Neil immediately called sheep. He was quickly corrected that the animals were called yekkums. They had slaughtered one of them only days ago, and the meat was supplementing their usual diet of cooked grains.

Without any idea where he truly was or where he was supposed to be, Torvik invited him to stay with them, at least until the thaw. It was actually difficult to travel during the cold season as snow was blocking most of the passes out of the mountainous region. Days stretched into weeks, the weeks into months until the extremely long nights seemed to finally shorten.

Yavvi had been increasing the pressure on him. She couldn't be stopped from kissing him. Torvik never seemed to mind, simply taking his turn kissing her. He finally had to say something.

"I just don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us about your wife." he said as he pulled off his gloves.

Torvik actually broke a smile. He leaned over to him and whispered. "Yavvi's not my wife, Arcus Neil." He continued to smile as he shoveled the snow.

"Then what is she?"

Torvik stopped shoveling and leaned on the end of his shovel. "Two years ago Yavvi came here just at the onset of winter. The best thing I can tell you about her is that she lives here with me now. We occasionally join as mates but I do not want to be married again. I know what you're thinking. I'm not jealous of the two of you. You are much closer of an age. I'm happy to have her company on cold nights."

"Well, I was going to tell you that I haven't 'mated' with her. She's tried on several occasions, but something stops me."

"Do you have a need for potions?"

"No, its nothing like that." Neil actually blushed. "No, I think its becauseI think I might be married. I don't know why I think that, I just do."

"That actually explains much." Torvik said as he resumed digging the path. "I thought at first it had to do with whatever led you to us but now I understand that you have been separated from your soul-mate."

"Yavvi said something about that the first time she tried to seduce me. Seduce me hell, she was climbing right onto me."

Torvik smiled again. "She can be awfully friendly that way."

Neil picked his own shovel back up, slipping the leather gloves back on. He had come very close to giving in to her last night. She was now sleeping with him rather than Torvik, claiming that he needed more warmth. He did find great pleasure in sleeping next to her, it was just disconcerting where her hands were going as she did. Still, the vague notion about his own soul mate kept him from stepping over that line with her.

He questioned her about it that night. He wondered about her origin, why she had come to the farm alone like that. She wouldn't speak of it, instead pressing tightly to his side and going to sleep.

Neil dreamed for the first time that night. He was certain he had dreamed before, but this was the first he could remember it. He wasn't sure if it was Yavvi's warmth or something else, but her image blurred, until it was replaced with an angelic visage of another woman. She was slightly built, slender though perfectly proportioned. Her raven black hair seemed to flow in all directions. The woman embraced him, drawing him tightly toward her. The long straight hair seemed to enwrap him as she drew his head to her bosom.

He awoke deep in the night entwined in Yavvi's arms. She had one leg draped over his, wrapping herself around him, her face nuzzled into the hollow of his neck. Torvik was on the other side of her, joining in the pool of warmth, one arm thrown over her waist.

He remembered the dream in complete detail. The intensity of the vision startled him, making him wonder if it was simply because the young woman was so close to him in the night. No, he didn't think so but he couldn't be sure. The dream was so real, though he couldn't quite recall why the woman was so different from the one he was with now. What would that mean if I really was with her? Would that be cheating my own soul-mate? Yavvi, while beautiful herself, was much more rounded, more buxom than the woman from his dream. Where the dream woman had long, straight black hair, Yavvi's was dark brown and a wavy mop of thick ringlets that extended to the middle of her back. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could see her smiling by the dying firelight.

Yavvi changed positions, turning to Torvik who clasped her close. He rolled away from them and wrapped himself in his own covers. The dream was starting to fade from his memory, taking it's place as any other half remembered dream. Taking his blanket with him, he stood and made his way into the other room, leaving the lovers lost in each other's embrace. Torvik deserved her, he thought. I'm the one out of place here. If I stay here any longer, I might be the one falling for the young woman.

He gathered his meager belongings, stuffing them into a belt pouch. He hoped they wouldn't miss the boots or the coat he was taking. Spring was rapidly approaching but the nights were still near freezing. He considered leaving them a note, but he didn't know how to write in their language. He wondered if they could even read.

Yavvi heard the door open and disentangled herself from Torvik. She struck a spark with a stone and lit her candle. Wrapped in her covers, she went looking for Neil in the house.

She knew he was gone. She couldn't explain the hunger she had for him or why he had spurned her. Sadly, she returned to the bed to Torvik's welcome embrace.

* * *

Two sets of eyes watched the traveler. They were well concealed in the underbrush, just off the main road.

"He doesn't look like a very good mark." One whispered. "He's dressed like a beggar."

"Look at him. There isn't a scar on him. He looks like a nobleman."

"Feh. He's a fool to travel this road alone. He doesn't look like he even has a knife, let alone a proper sword."

Neil could hear the whispering. He knew his hearing was especially keen, as he had been able to track small game to supplement his diet of berries and grains that generous farmers had given him. They told him the harvest was especially good last year, and they had plenty left in their stores as they began their spring plantings.

He was ready when the first one dropped in front of him. On cue, the other one dropped from behind and tried to ram a sword into his back.

Expecting the move, he simply dropped to the ground and kicked the second man in the knee. There was a horrible cracking sound as he dropped the sword, howling in pain. Instantly Neil was back on his feet.

The first man was only armed with a knife, as he was supposed to distract their prey. He neatly sidestepped the attack, catching the man by his arm and throwing him onto his back. In the same motion he brought his fist down on the man's jaw, putting him out.

He stood back up, dusting himself off. "I don't think you'll be needing this." He said as he picked up the sword, inspecting it. The design was simple but the quality good. Excellent, it is probably military issue, he thought. He assumed the men had either taken this off a soldier or they were deserters. The man was still moaning, holding this shattered knee as he helped himself to the scabbard.

After quickly looking around, he sheathed the weapon and started away. After a moment's thought, he also took the fighting knife from the other man. Not wanting to leave the highwaymen without anything, he dropped his utility knife onto the ground beside the unconscious man. It had been a gift from a kind farmer several weeks ago, the man taking pity on the totally unarmed, unequipped man.

The two thieves were the first people he had come across who were not outright friendly and generous. I'm going to have to find a map, he thought. He wouldn't have been surprised if he was nearing a city, or at least moving into a more heavily populated area.

He thanked _Effurien_ that he apparently was a skilled fighter. Everyone he met so far kept thanking something they referred to by that name He didn't know if it was a person, a religion or what. One older wife told him they would always help a stranger just in case he was a _Kiresmek ban Effurien_, or Knight of Effurien. She didn't elaborate, assuming he knew what they were speaking of.

His fighting skills were another mystery like the rest of his past. The moment he knew he was being stalked, he knew he would be able to handle the men instinctively. He assumed they would have been more of a challenge, but he was able to put each of them down quickly, barely causing him to break a sweat in the warming spring air. He started punching the air; play boxing in the style his body was somehow accustomed to. He broke into a run, leaping into the air and kicking out. He landed lithely on both feet.

Pulling the sword from his waist, he tested it, waving it about, feeling the heft of it. It didn't seem to be as familiar as his hand-to-hand fighting style, but he seemed to know his way about it. He nearly tripped over himself as he tried to put is back into its housing. He stopped for a moment, untying the thongs from his waist and transferring the sword to his shoulder. Satisfied that it was more comfortable there, he started on his way again.

In all the time he spent as a stranger in this strange land the questions played over and over in his mind.

_Where am I? Why is it all I can remember about myself is my name?_

He kept pondering that question as he made his way down the road, searching for something, anything familiar.


	4. Boiling Point

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Boiling point**

* * *

By the end of their freshman year, Kim and Ron had become monthly and sometimes weekly fixtures at the Mount Middleton Ski lodge. Whenever their study and mission schedule would allow they would make the hour drive up the mountain just to get away, at least for the night. Little did they know the staff of the lodge had come to call them 'the Stoppables' behind their backs. Even during the warmer months the lodge had taken to staying open to serve the steady stream of mountain bikers vacationing in the area, looking for fresh trails. While the small resort didn't hold a candle to the mega-mountain-bike centers like Durango or Crested Butte it made up for it with a quaint simplicity that appealed to the young couple. Ron even started bringing the downhill racing bike that had been hanging in the Possible's garage, causing Kim no small amount of concern for his safety. However, once he strapped on the multicolored body armor and full-face helmet he became 'Captain Rondo, Downhill Racer Extraordinaire!' and , after some initial 'learning experiences' he actually became a fairly proficient rider. He wasn't headed to the annual 'Kamikaze Classic' by any stretch of the imagination but he was good enough to actually have fun doing it.

Their trips slowed considerably during their sophomore year as their class loads increased and, even with cousin Joss and the Tweebs stepping up for simpler, less dangerous missions their Kimmunicators seemed to go off more and more often. At least when it was about school work they could drive up there, set up camp in front of a fireplace and study to their hearts content, knowing they could look to a later reward of some quality time together.

It was mid-winter and even the lower elevations were blanketed with snow. Fortunately the roads higher up were in pretty good condition, especially since the livelihoods of the people living up their depended on the tourists finding the roads passable. The whitened landscape was soothing to Kim, who was still rather tweaked by the battle with the Fists. _Or would that be the Fisks?_

Ron almost turned green when she mentioned the two had been wearing wedding rings.

They were both sufficiently caught up with their school work, winter mid-terms behind them and the final push to the end of their junior year waiting for them just around the bend. It was a good time for a break. A very good one. Following a quick video conference with Wade, Kim almost shoved her beloved into the car and drove straight to the lodge, arriving so early their usual room wasn't even ready yet.

During the ride, she made Ron describe his entire account of the 'time sitch."

"So that's all you know?" she asked, puzzled by the lack of detail in his report.

"That's it, KP. Most of what I know is about Norway and how miserable I was until Rufus 3000 showed up to drag me back to '99."

Kim risked a look at him, taking her eyes off the winding mountain road, trying to imagine him in a Norwegian folk dancing costume. The very though of her wearing the green and black 'Club Shego' clothing made her shudder. That made her think of the woman who had become something like a friend, albeit a hesitant one, over the last couple years. It was almost as if she considered Sherry Godfrey and Shego to be two different people.

"You sure looked hot in that future mission gear." Ron said with a grin.

"Shoulder pads? That is so last season. No, that's so _three_ seasons ago. Now, thinking about you running around with your shirt off…"

"No, KP, let's not think about it. Two words come to mind."

"Uh huh?"

"Bird - chest." He said with a pout.

"Ron, you did not have a bird chest!"

"So did." He grumped, crossing his arms.

She reached out and touched his arm, pulling it gently from its mate and finding his hand. She twined her fingers with his and lightly squeezed. "Ron, if you remember correctly, you hadn't started growing again and filling out on a certain night almost four years ago. You didn't see me having any problem with your chest then."

"Well, you don't remember, so in effect, you weren't there. But Monique was and so was Shego."

She looked at him again and raised an eyebrow. "Shego? Ron…why would you be concerned about Shego seeing you without your shirt?"

He answered, not catching the look she was giving him. "Oh, mainly because Drakken was right there. I'm telling you Kim, he looked like Hego on steroids. It was embarrassing."

"Okay. I was just weirding out that you might have been, I don't know, crushing on her or something."

"Ew…Ew, no! Kim no!" He made a face like somebody had just handed him a molded Naco. He made a mental note not to mention the detail of him telling Shego she looked cute in the monkey temple fight, even though that was really just to get her goat.

"Gotta say, though, now she's gotten pretty hot!" He sat back, propping his head with his hands

"You wouldn't say that if you'd been there when she gave birth."

"No. Who woulda thunk it. She tries to kill you for years, yet you and your Mom are the first one she turns to because she thinks she'll get arrested if she went to a hospital. The weirdest thing was seeing Drakken freaking out."

"Wait a minute? Drakken was there?" She had been furious at the time, trusting him to take care of her yet thinking he had abandoned her at her greatest moment of need.

"Yeah. When Mrs. Dr. P chased the rest of us out I saw him peeking in the window. He took one look at me and took off, but I ran him down."

"And he was freaking?"

"Majorly. He kept babbling about 'not being that kind of doctor' and all."

"Ron, Drakken isn't a doctor of anything. He dropped out of college."

"I know. I was figuring maybe he brought her in one of those saucer cars of his or something. Not sure what became of him while she was staying at your place though."

Kim pursed her lips, considering what Ron told her. Drakken had been off the radar for a long time now. In fact, except for his encounter with him when Amethyst was born, he hadn't been seen at all. Strange that Sherry hadn't mentioned him then.

While they waited for their rooms they broke out their boards and hit the slopes. Ron managed to fall only once, mainly because he was trying to keep his pants up.

Kim skidded to a stop beside him, fighting to suppress a fit of giggles. "Ron, sweetheart, I really think it's time to say goodbye to those old blue ski pants of yours."

He half turned around as he fastened the snaps. "I thought you liked how these made my butt look?" He wiggled the aforementioned body part for emphasis, making Kim stifle another laugh.

"Ron, I said everyone can see your butt when those things fall down. Of all the people on this mountain, you are the one who really needs a ski bib instead of pants."

"That's so not funny, KP."

"Like it wasn't funny when Tim and Jim gave you suspenders for Christmas?"

"No, that wasn't funny. Just mock my pain." He said in a fake pout, holding his hand up, palm out and looking away with his eyes lidded.

"Whatever, drama boy. See you at the bottom! Loser is a snow beast!" She hollered as she sped away on her board.

Ron actually did get back to the lodge first, though in the form of a giant snow-ball!

* * *

"I am so very sorry, Miss Possible, but we just simply have been able to get your usual room ready for you today. You see, we had some…shall we say…less decorous college students recently and we feel the room simply is not up to our standards."

Translation: _The room was trashed._

"No big. We'll just take another room. Right now the most important thing is the shower works and there's plenty of hot water."

"Of course. Unfortunately, there are no more rooms in the main lodge available tonight but since you have a standing reservation, I will offer you one of our Chalet's for tonight. It is further up the mountain, I hope you don't mind the inconvenience."

"Has it got cable?" Ron asked with a lopsided grin?

"Yes, Mr. Stoppable."

"Does it get the Mouse Ears channel?"

"Yes, Mr. Stoppable."

"Booyah! We'll take it!"

Kim just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Further up the mountain ended up being more like most of the rest of the way up the mountain. Instead of having to rely on a shuttle back to the lodge, they simply drove the winding, slippery track to the A-frame chalet. The afternoon was slipping from early to mid but they had already had a quick lunch before setting out. Since they were only there for the weekend, moving in consisted mainly of throwing their small bags on the counter near the bathroom.

Kim couldn't stand it any more. Not caring whether Ron saw or not, she started pealing out of her clothes on the way to the shower. She was glad her mission clothes were encased in her thick, maroon ski gear, since after spending the later half of the night sweating inside a mummy case things were getting really ripe.

Ron watched her as she went, his eyes about popping out of his skull as her mission shirt was pulled over her head. It wasn't the first time he'd ever seen her in her underwear but it was a rare enough occurrence he took special note. It also made him wonder why, if the bikini she bought to wear for him actually covered less, why it was so sexy to see her in a black bra and panties.

Oh well, turn about is fair play. Then again, half the planet had seen him in his boxers.

The shower took just a bit longer to heat up than one of the rooms would, since the water heater was further away, but she quickly had the room steamed up, scrubbing herself of the mission stink. Mindful that Ron would need some hot water, she shut it off and wrapped one towel around her hair, another around her body.

Ron was still in the main sitting room of the small cabin, slouched in one of the big, overstuffed chairs, his back to her. She tiptoed up to him and leaned over his shoulder, holding onto the towel for dear life.

As usual, he had fallen fast asleep in the comfortable chair.

Kim sighed and headed back toward the bathroom, intent on drying her hair. On her way back there, she noticed the sliding glass doors at the back of the building. Curious, she opened the shades and peered outside. The deck was built on two levels. The upper one was open, with seats built into the rails for guests to view the mountainous scenery. It was the lower one that captured her interest.

Steaming like a cauldron in the cold mountain air was a hot-tub concealed by a privacy wall.

A sly smile spread across her lips and she slipped out the doors. The cold bit at her semi-wet skin, giving her gooseflesh as she scampered toward the waiting Jacuzzi. Apparently the lodge staff had been there ahead of them and had prepared it. The water was fresh and hot with just a hint of bubbles. A hot chest containing fresh towels and a pair of robes sat ready.

Looking around to make sure the privacy screen was sufficient, Kim slipped out of the wet towel and into the deliciously hot water. She slipped in right up to her neck, positioning one of the water jets in the small of her back. Her grin got wider as another set of jets came on. She had been in hot tubs many, many times before, but this was the first time she had one all to herself…

…without a bathing suit!

Not meaning to and despite the knowledge it could be dangerous, Kim dozed off for what seemed like half a moment. She awoke to the sensation of water splashing in her face.

Directly across from her was Ron, arms stretched wide, half in, and half out of the water.

"I hope you got a shower before you came down here." She said, mindful that he was in much the same state of hygiene she was."

"Yeah, I just got out, then I got worried when I couldn't find you. This is BADICAL!" He was luxuriating in it as much as she was. "I hope you brought enough underwear."

She raised an eyebrow, confused by the question. "Underwear?"

"Yeah, cause I don't think what we've got on right now will dry out quick enough. Now, I came prepared!"

Kim blushed, realizing Ron had no idea what she was wearing (or wasn't) under the water. Apparently he had slipped in wearing one of his many spare pairs of boxers. Of course that's what he would do! Three years of dating, two of those spent engaged, and he was still the consummate gentleman. All that time together, even sharing a bed when they were away from home, and he still wanted to save their first time for their wedding night. It was the sweetest, most romantic thing!

Though that was starting to frustrate Kim!

It wasn't like Ron wasn't interested. On the contrary, it took a great deal of will power on his part to control himself when they were alone and lately, with growing frequency, Kim was the one having to remind herself to cool things down. She had to keep telling herself that it just wouldn't be right if she forced the issue. He had a favorite fantasy about their wedding night and if they didn't wait, it just wouldn't be the same, so, no matter how much tension built up, Kim would wait.

Somehow she knew it was really up to her to stay in control. If she ever made a move to take the relationship to that next level, there would be no stopping Ron. That would elicit his favorite line. "I'm a guy, KP, It's what we do!"

A devilish smile crept over her face thinking about what a guy could do.

"Whatcha thinkin 'bout, KP?" he said, his eyes half-lidded.

"Oh, just thinking about what you said about underwear. Thinking how, if we're not careful, we'll end up running around without any."

"Funny, Kim. I'm the last person on Earth who should go commando. T'would be too much for the lay-days to handle!"

"My, don't we have a_ big_ opinion of ourselves." She cooed, her smile getting even wider.

"Yep, can't complain. You know how it is."

"Oh, I do? Well, let me see now, what was it you told me about the 'tells' when a man is bluffing?"

"It ain't bluffing if you can do it!" He responded, enjoying the slightly dirty banter.

"That's bragging, Ron." She said playfully. "Well, I think that's long enough. Don't stay too long, you can overheat in these things." With that, she turned around and stood up, climbing out of the tub and heading for the heated box with the towels and robes. She tied the waist and turned back to see his face frozen in shock.

Something seemed to go click behind his eyes and his expression changed. Moments later he plopped a pair of soaking wet boxers on the side of the hot-tub, wagging his eyebrows at her.

"Should have thought of that while I was still in there, bad boy!" She said, turning toward the steps that led to the upper deck and the heated interior of the A-frame.

"Woooo, that's…different!" he said. Kim wasn't quite sure what to make of his expression when she looked back over her shoulder at him. The smile returned.

Ron had his eyes closed, his head tilted back as he enjoyed the heat of the soaking tub. Despite the February chill he stretched his arms out above the rim, letting the steam keep him warm. Still, the huge temperature difference made him quite away when the water level rose slightly. Before he could open his eyes he felt another body pressed up against his side. Almost involuntarily his arm closed around Kim's shoulder. She put her head down on his and despite her hair being cold and damp he thought his whole body was on fire. He could feel the fingernails of her left hand trailing up and down his upper leg, causing him to twitch involuntarily.

He became aware that he was repeating the same two words over and over, out loud. "Wedding day…wedding day…wedding day."

"Entertaining fantasies again, Ronster." She whispered in his ear before gently nibbling on the lobe.

Trying desperately to think clearly, all he could get out was "Are you hungry yet KP?"

"Rowr!" she purred.

"I...uh…meant…uh dinner. Yeah, that's it, I need to get started cooking dinner!" Since they always got a room with a kitchenette, Ron had taken to preparing their meals on their getaways so they wouldn't have to spend a lot of time and money in the lodge dining room.

"Okay!" She said sweetly. "Let's go get dried off and you can cook a romantic dinner for two." With that she got up out of the water again, not turning away so quickly this time. Ron just sat there and gulped.

"So not bragging." She trilled at him as she tied the robe closed and headed up the steps.

* * *

Of course, Ron had a very hard time concentrating on his cooking. Thankfully, he had done all the more sophisticated preparation ahead of time, considering the lack of space and the simple appliances available in their usual room. The kitchen in the cabin was slightly larger, but that was about the only difference.

Kim reappeared, still dressed in the fluffy white robe but her hair now dry. He always marveled how so much hair could dry so fast. He didn't have to worry about anything, running his fingers through his corn silk mop was enough. It was dry ten minutes after they went back inside. He slipped on a fresh pair of boxers and tied on his own robe, luxuriating in the soft fluffy whiteness.

A pair of slender but muscular arms wrapped around his waist from behind and gave him a gentle squeeze. Moments later he could feel the tip of her nose nuzzling the edge of his right ear.

"This used to be easier when you were my height." She whispered.

"Yeah, growing six inches in less than a year isn't all it's cracked up to be." He turned in her embrace, holding a spoon to her lips. "Here, give this a taste."

She tasted the proffered sauce, smacking her lips a couple times as she tried to identify the various flavors. "That's spankin! What is it?"

"It's really just a very plain tomato sauce. I think of it as what the stuff in a jar wants to be when it grows up. So, which cheese? Parmesan or Romano?"

"Definitely the second. I'm always good to go with Romano."

He turned back toward the stove, Kim keeping her arms wrapped around his waist. "I love you, Ron Stoppable." She put her head against his upper back, breathing in the scent of him.

"I love you too, Kim Possible!" He said, zestfully stirring his sauce. He almost dropped the spoon when she started gently caressing his ears. "What is that?" he asked in a distant voice.

"I was watching _Space Passage: Far Station Ten_ the other night with the tweebs and that alien with the butt-shaped forehead and the really big ears liked this. I mean he _really_ liked this." She said playfully.

"I can see why!" He finally let go of the spoon, turning and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close. The kiss started out gentle, almost tentative but grew more and more intense. His eyes rolled back in head as Kim grabbed his ears again and started gently nibbling his lower lip.

Some many minutes later she broke away, whispering over and over, "Wedding night…wedding night."

"Yeah, wedding night." His voice was barely a whisper itself.

"You carry me across the threshold…" She nuzzled his neck, purring like a kitten.

"You're wearing your wedding dress…" he responded.

"White wedding dress." She breathed, tightening her arms around him.

He pushed the robe off her shoulder and kissed her lightly tanned skin. The white robe! He thought. The fantasy playing repeatedly in his mind's eye subtly changed, the dress replaced with the soft, white, fluffy terry, the fuzzy belt around the waist slowly coming untied, the whole thing falling away.

He noticed that without realizing it his fingers were working on the light knot at her waist. Kim made no move to stop him, only kissing him harder.

BEEP-BEEP-DE-BEEP!

Kim glanced at the table where their wrist units sat, then went back to kissing him.

"Don't you think you need to answer that?"

"Let it go to voice mail. Wade will understand."

"Uh, Kim, remember? Fist gang on the loose? Bent on dominating all time and space?"

"Fine!" her eyes clouded over as she stomped across the room, hitting the accept key on her bracelet. Wade's holographic image appeared, his hands clamped across his eyes.

"Go Wade." She said.

"You decent, Kim?" He asked, not risking a peek.

"Yes." She growled, "Unfortunately" she added low enough the sensors wouldn't pick it up.

His fingers went back to their accustomed place at his keyboards. "I wasn't interruption anything was I? It took a lot longer than normal for you to pick up and you are wearing a bath robe at four thirty in the afternoon." He put on a silly grin that rivaled anything Ron could do.

"Grow up Wade!" Her tweak was rising, replacing the other emotions she had been feeling.

"Hey, I might have a doctorate, but I'm still just fifteen."

"What have you got?"

"I did some digging on the Tempus Simia, but it seems there isn't much to go on. The British Ministry of Antiquities logged out some into on it about four years ago…"

Ron peeked over Kim's shoulder, Wade taking mental note that he was wearing a robe as well, though he let it pass. "Let me guess, Monkey Fist!" He theorized.

"Good call, uh…Ron, could you belt up, please?"

"Oh, sorry." He said, closing his robe.

"Fist used his credentials as an archeologist to borrow some of the materials, then disappeared with them. Then the rest of the stuff just up and disappeared a month later too."

"So he went back and cleaned them out?" Kim asked.

"That's what I don't get. They just vanished without a trace. Nothing could be linked to Monkey Fist with the exception of the stuff he already had. I do have some good news, though!"

"You saved a bunch of money on your car insurance?" Ron asked, earning a glare from both Wade and Kim.

"No, I don't even have a car, and you wouldn't either if I hadn't replaced that worn out engine with a cold fusion drive like I put in Kim's car. I just wanted you to know GJ has put a full security detail on the museum until they can get permission to move the TS to a more secure location. We won't have to worry about the newlyweds making a try for the real one again."

_Uh oh!_ Kim thought

"Wade, did you just say newlyweds?" Ron asked, a strange expression forming on his face.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" His holograph was replaced with an image of a well known British tabloid. Most of the page was dedicated to gossip about the royal family, but a tiny article in the bottom corner announced the nuptials of a minor nobleman, one Lord Montgomery Fisk to an American scientist named Amy Hall.

Moments later Ron was on the floor, twitching and muttering, "Sick and wrong….Sick and wrong!" repeatedly.

"So it would seem she caught him after all!" Kim said, trying to sooth her fiancé.

"I guess I'll keep you two posted in case anything big comes up."

As soon as Wade said that Kim started giggling uncontrollably, earning her a confused look from Wade. Ron stopped mutter and perked up, looking back into the Kimmunicator's sensor, thoughts of the monkey marriage forgotten. "Right." Wade said just as it sunk in what he said that set the two of them off. "Oh, no, no, too much information! I'll see you guys later!" He punched out and the line went dead.

Kim put her bracelet back on the table, keying the privacy feature. Unless the world was about to explode or a horde of supervillains were spotted about to converge on their location an emergency call would be shunted to Tim, Jim or Joss.

"Where were we?" She asked in a sultry tone.

"I was about to put the pasta on to boil." Ron chirped.

"Ohhhhh! I'm not sure I really want a wet noodle." She said, dropping to her knees where he sat on the floor.

"Wedding night…wedding night." He repeated, Kim joining him in unison.

* * *

The design flaw of the cabin became apparent later as they settled down for the evening. The bedroom was on the second floor, well away from the fireplace and, despite flannel pajamas and a heavy comforter it was downright cold! Snuggling was insufficient and with a hot, crackling fire downstairs the quickly stripped the bed and set up camp right in front of it. After a full afternoon and early evening of making out, pushing their pledge almost to the breaking point, they were both exhausted. They fell asleep quickly, mutually deciding that bathing suits should be standard equipment when private Jacuzzi's were available in the future. The alternative was just too dangerous.

Ron woke up some time in the middle of the night. The first, despite being stoked up before they drifted off, had burned down to nothing but ash, leaving only the electric space heaters and their bodies to keep them warm. Kim was curled up beside him, snoring softly. He smiled to himself, wondering anew if he should tell her how badly she snored sometimes.

Outside the moon was waxing a quarter past new, casting just enough light to bathe the white blanketed landscape in a twilight glow. The very air seemed to be still, the silence of the winter night as chilling as the cooling temperatures of the cabin.

There was a stack of fire logs just outside the front door, along with a box of kindling and old newspapers. Shrugging, he knew he had no other choice. Either build a new fire or risk being really, really cold by morning. Borrowing Kim's bunny slippers he donned his old blue jacket and went outside, hoping he could bring enough in before catching a real chill.

It was as silent outside as it was indoors. Whatever night creatures were about must have decided it was too cold to do anything but hunker down and conserve warmth. He started picking out split logs when something made him look over his shoulder.

On the opposite side of the snow encrusted road, on a hill overlooking the chalet, stood a tall figure dressed entirely in black. It was too far away for him to make out any details in the partial moonlight but it seemed to be wearing some elaborate mask with tall spikes rising on each side.

Putting the logs down he took a few hesitant steps out into the snow and looked again. The dark figure was gone. Finally deciding that lack of sleep and exhaustion were playing tricks on him, he started collecting wood again.

He lifted his stack and turned to go inside.

The dark figure was standing barely twenty feet away from him. It was indeed wearing a masked helmet, the lower portion of the visor made to look like a stylized demonic grin. Its black cloak parted, revealing the rest of the ghoulish stranger. It appeared to be a man, standing over seven feet tall, not counting the spikes. In its hands was a curved sword resembling a Japanese Katana. Unlike the more familiar weapon, this one had strange runes carved into the lower blade.

It took a step toward Ron, the sword hand rising. The Gold carvings on the butt and guard glittering in the moonlight. Frightened beyond all reason Ron fell back in the snow, dropping the logs, which seemed to make no sound as they scattered around him. The dark figure raised the sword over his head as it approached, its left hand starting to glow with a nasty, purplish light. Not even able to scream, Ron scooted backwards until he hit the closed door. The sword came down in a blinding arc…

"KIM!"

Ron screamed, sitting up suddenly in their makeshift bed. The fire had burned low but was still radiating a pleasing warmth. Instantly awake, Kim put a hand on his shoulder.

Heedless of being dressed only in his pajama bottoms, Ron rushed to the front door, peering outside. Thick snowflakes fell from the dark sky, the moon unseen behind the thick storm clouds.

"Ron, what is it?" Kim reached him, wrapping her robe over her pajamas against the chill.

"I…I think it was just a dream."

"That sounded more like a nightmare!"

"Yeah, I guess so. That was so weird, like it was so real. There was this dude with a funky helmet on, dressed all in black, coming after me with a katana."

"Was it a ninja?"

"No, not a ninja…Oh my God! I just realized what he was wearing!"

"What?"

"It was a solid black Team Go uniform!"

"Team Go? Are you sure you just aren't mixing up familiar details in a dream? You didn't put any funny spices in the sauce, did you?"

"No, Kim. This was way too real. I could feel the cold air. I could hear his boots crunch in the snow. I could hear the sword cut the air."

"You're sure it wasn't just the lotus blade?"

"No, it was something different. It wasn't a normal katana. The details were a little off, like the grip was more like what you'd find on a European sword."

She guided him back inside, collecting a few logs to stoke up the dwindling fire. He was shivering and she somehow could tell it wasn't from the cold. Slowly she started to recall where she had seen an all-black Team Go uniform.

It was buried, deep in a grave!


	5. Monkey Business

_Disclaimer: I don't own KP. If I did, there would be a KP channel on cable. Disney owns. Disney pwns. Nuff said._

* * *

_**The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury**_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Monkey Business**

* * *

Something about the old, heavyset man, who only made himself known as Arcus Uri, made Monkey Fist dislike him instantly. Then again, there were very few human beings he liked being around anyway. He crouched on the edge of his seat, watching the portly fellow as he examined his prize. He circled the table, alternately squinting at the stone monkey torso and touching it with his fat, pale fingers.

"This is amazing." The wizened man finally exclaimed.

"What is? You haven't even told me what that old relic is supposed to do." Fist growled.

"Perhaps I never intended to tell you. All I needed you for was to acquire it, not to actually use it." He said dismissively, not bothering to look fist in the eye.

"Then why am I still sitting here? Give me what you promised and I will take my leave of you."

"Why are you still here? Maybe to answer my questions." He finally fixed the man/ape with a withering glare, pale blue eyes locking with black.

Fist felt his heart turn to ice. The sudden surge of fear he could not explain, as the man had gone from a doddering old fool to a towering menace.

"You pathetic freak. Seeking the magicks of this world, while polluting your body with this unnatural…_science_!" He gestured at Fist's hands. "Did you not even think to examine what you took?" he grabbed the idol and held it inches from his nose. "Did your ancient nation of Japan label their icons of power so?"

Almost afraid of what he would see, Fist looked at the tiny brass plate fitted on the bottom of the statue. 'Tri-City Museum Replica #90125." _It was a fake!_

"What is amazing to me is how incompetent you really are. Maybe if you weren't so obsessed with that child and his betrothed you might have noticed they switched them."

Monkey Fist bared his teeth. "You said break into the museum and retrieve that thing. I have done so. I cannot help you didn't foresee a trick like this. You said it would be on the pedestal!"

Uri moved so quickly Fist didn't have time to react. In one fluid motion he was lifted up and slammed into the nearest wall, soft but shockingly strong fingers throat, barely leaving him enough room to breath.

"This is what I get for depending on some…lackey!" Uri snarled, knowing the effect the word would have on the arrogant Englishman.

Fist drew back to strike but a white glow traveled down the man's arm. Fist's arms and legs dropped limply down as his energy and will to fight were stolen away. The white glow slowly turned blue and a feral smile spread across his captor's face. "So, not everything about you is the product of your unnatural science!"

He trembled uncontrollably, knowing his Mystical Monkey Power was being torn away from his very soul. The glow winked out and he was dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Pathetic Terran, thinking you could use the power of noble animals by making yourself look like one. It will be a wonder if you are even able to walk without it!" Uri left him there in his agony, giggling to himself as if he were stifling maniacal laughter.

Monkey Fist lay like that for what seemed like forever as the spell-induced terror slowly faded. What didn't fade was the horror of what the old wizard had done to him, what that fat fossil had _stolen_ from him! Gradually, fear was being replaced with burning hatred and rage.

The sound of crunching wood and stone reached him. He knew what was coming.

She would not see him like this!

With quivering effort he got a paw/hand under his body. It was quickly obvious just how much strength and vitality had been sapped from him. Somewhere beyond the door a wall was being battered down by some unseen force. Desperation and burning hatred couple by indomitable will gave him the strength his body could not. He shakingly rose to his feet as the door leading to the room was smashed to splinters.

A pair of monstrous, genetically modified gorillas in Japanese-style armor pushed their way into the room, followed by half a dozen monkeys dressed in ninja garb. Finally, pushing her way past her creations and Fist's minions came DNAmy, searching for her beloved.

"We are going to find Arcus Uri." He said with a low, vicious snarl, "…and he is going to PAY for this!" He got the last out as he collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

* * *

Some time after Kim's brothers had actually started seriously daring the Possibles came to a startling realization. Oh, they were very aware their children were growing up, that went without saying, with one child planning a marriage and the other two starting to refer to the girls they were dating as 'girlfriends.' No, that they were expecting, though it seemed to come much faster than they ever imagined. What they never expected was outgrowing the dining room table! Ron had been a fixture at their table for most of the last sixteen years but more and more often Tim and Jim would bring their dates, with the same faces becoming more and more regular until they had each settled on a 'steady.' 

"If it weren't for our grocery bill, I could have gotten a new Jaguar by now." James griped from behind his paper.

"Don't exaggerate, dear. You can buy another one any time you want. It's not like Tam and Angela eat anywhere near as much as Ron does." Anne said as genially as she could.

"I don't know. It's like their parents don't even feed them at home."

"James!" She scolded. "How would you like it if the twins had girlfriends they didn't want to bring home to meet us?"

"I guess you're right. At least it will stop at eight. Eight is enough, as they say."

"Until they start bringing children of their own to dinner." She cooed, thinking wistfully of the future.

That earned her a glare of the top of his newspaper. "Let's worry about Kim getting married first." He put his paper down as a pair of headlights turned into the driveway. "Though I'm starting to wonder if the ceremony is going to be redundant."

Anne swatted him on the arm. "Don't be a hypocrite. We constantly went away fro the weekend when we were twenty!"

"I know. I know all too well what I was like when I was twenty and that's what bothers me the most. I'm just having a hard time believing our Kimmie-Cub is an adult. It would be different, I guess, if she wasn't still living here."

"James, you were delighted when she decided to commute to school instead of living in the dorms. Besides, she sat down with me and had a nice long talk about things. You should be proud, you've raised a very responsible son and daughter."

"Son?" He wondered why she hadn't said 'sons.'

"I'm speaking of Ron, dear. We have had as much hand in raising him as his own parents. Let me just say, they are going to have one very interesting wedding night if things continue the way they are." She smiled when his face screwed up in obvious discomfort. She picked up the rubber band from his paper and stretched it as far as it could go. "Think, when all that tension gets released!" For emphasis she let it go, sending it sailing across the room…

…smacking Ron square in the nose. "Oh my God, Ron! I am so sorry!" She rushed right over to make sure it hadn't struck him in the eye.

"No problem, Mrs. Dr. P! Just let me know the next time you want to have a good old fashioned rubber band fight and I'll come prepared." He still rubbed his lightly stung nose.

"Well, look who's back. How was your ski trip?" James said, picking his paper back up.

"Real fun, Daddy." Kim said as she came in behind her fiancé. "Ron only fell a couple of times."

"Oh, so you actually did some skiing?" Her father asked, looking over the top of his paper.

"James!" Anne hissed.

"Actually it was more like snowboarding." Kim corrected. "Right before naked Hot-tubbing!" she added with a wicked grin.

She wasn't sure who was hyperventilating worse, Ron or her father. Her mother just favored her with a look that said _You are not kidding, are you?_

_There, that will put a stop to that line of questioning and I didn't have to even lie about it!_

Peeking from around his paper, James waited patiently as Ron poured himself some pop and started to drink. "So, Ronald, when are you going to make an honest woman of my Kimmie-cub?"

"Daddy!" Kim shrieked.

"James!" Anne barked at the same time.

Ron somehow managed not to spray his drink all over the kitchen but still took a while recovering before he could speak.

"James, you know good and well that implies the two of them are 'living in sin!'" Anne regretted saying the last part when she saw Ron's reaction to it.

"Uh, well, Mr.Dr.P, we were sort of waiting until after we graduate and all."

"Good to hear it!" He hid his smug expression behind his paper, pleased he had gotten Ron's goat.

* * *

The Possible's table ended up being tested to its limits for that Sunday evening dinner. Wade stopped by to drop off Rufus, bringing the total to nine plus one hungry naked mole rat. Before the table could even be set the roar of jet engines brought everyone to the back door just in time to witness a Global Justice Hoverjet landing in the back yard. Kim waved frantically when she saw her cousin Joss get out. The waving slowed, then stopped when the pilot climbed out next, taking her hand in his. 

Kim had to keep reminding herself _six years age difference is not that much!_

Still, it wasn't so much that Joss was just seventeen and her boyfriend was twenty-three, it was _who_ the boyfriend was! Joss had mentioned him in emails and on missions she shared with Kim, but it took actually seeing the couple together in person for it to really sink in.

"Doctors Possible, Kimberly, Ron, always good to see you all." Second Assistant Director Wil Du said genially, bowing slightly rather than offering a handshake.

Ron recovered his bottom jaw (_this_ Kim hadn't mentioned to him!) long enough to ask Kim's father, "At what point will your brother Slim stop freaking?"

"That's a good question, Ronald. I don't think even 'Old Tornado' would phase this particular boyfriend!"

Ron just nodded, correctly guessing Slim Possible used his powerful robot horse much the same way his soon to be father-in-law used the threat of sending misbehaving boyfriends to a black hole.

When the twins arrived with their respective girlfriends, that brought the total to eleven.

The very first time Tim referred to Tam, a petite but strikingly beautiful Asian teen, as his 'girlfriend' both Kim and Ron were merciless, mimicking the kissy sounds the twins had tormented them with when they were younger.

Naturally it was a while before Jim admitted he was going steady with Angela, a pretty blonde a year older than him. Fortunately for them, the joke was already old and the young couple was spared much of the well-deserved payback.

Anne was quietly pleased there were as many guests at her table as Thanksgiving!

It was much later, when, as the hover jet was streaking toward Montana and the twins were driving their dates home that Ron was finally able to speak to Anne alone. At first, he just started drying the dishes as she put them out of the sink, helping her put them away.

"Did you and Kim have some time to actually have fun this weekend? I know a lot of the time you two spend up there is used for studying and you both left so early yesterday for that mission."

"Yes ma'am, Mrs.Dr.P."

"Ron, please, I think by now you're entitled to call me Mom."

"Uh, sure. Yeah, we had plenty of time to ourselves since we just had mid-terms. They're probably waiting to ambush us with a ton of stuff tomorrow morning."

"Kim _was_ kidding earlier, wasn't she?"

Ron suddenly couldn't look her in the eyes. His breath got shallow and wheezy and he kept touching his face.

"I'm just playing you, Ron. Kim shared what you told her with me. Besides, the two of you are adults, so it's really none of my business. Now, what's really on your mind?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Can you give me something that can help me sleep?"

"Help you sleep? I've never known you to have any trouble sleeping."

"I didn't used to, but the last couple years I've been waking up from these really vivid dreams."

"Kim hasn't mentioned anything."

"It doesn't happen when I sleep with Ki… I mean, uh, that didn't come out right, did it?"

"I know what you meant."

"Well, tit didn't until last night, though that was really more of a full-blown nightmare."

"And you couldn't get back to sleep?"

"Well, that's the thing. After Kim and I talked about it, I slept like a baby the rest of the night. In fact, we were so late getting up we missed checkout."

"Ouch! They didn't make you pay an extra day, did they?"

"No, they were pretty understanding about it. Kept going on and on how we were such good customers and how we actually helped the business there."

"So you're not sleeping well at home? Sounds a lot like that has more to do with it than your dreams. Maybe you like sleeping next to Kim a little _too_ much." She favored him with a glowing smile that told him she didn't mind that one little bit. "I'll tell you what. I'll call the pharmacy tomorrow morning and prescribe you something mild if you promise me you'll go to see at least your family doctor if this doesn't take care of itself soon. In don't want to alarm you, but this might indicate other underlying problems."

"Sure, I promise. You rock, Mrs. Dr…Mom!"

"Good boy! Now get out to the family room before you start weirding out Kim. Helping with the dishes, what is she going to think?"

* * *

Kim took her time driving Ron home. She wanted to walk him there, considering they were both Colorado natives and used to the cold winters but the notion was roundly vetoed by everyone else because it meant her walking home by herself at night. Master of Kung-Fu, crime-fighting hero (at twenty, calling her a 'teen hero' just doesn't make sense any more) or not, a young woman walking alone at night simply was not going to be. 

That meant taking the longest, most circuituitous route she could think of. He knew immediately what that meant. She wanted to talk and he was effectively a captive audience until she reached his home.

"Why didn't you tell me you've been having trouble sleeping?" She asked after making the first deliberate wrong turn.

"So much for doctor/patient confidentiality." Ron grumped.

"No, Mom didn't tell me anything she shouldn't have. I'm sure she would tell me if I asked her directly but I didn't have to. I overheard the two of you talking in the kitchen."

"Look, Kim, like you say, it's really no big."

"Yes, Ron, it is big. If you end up making yourself sick…"

"I know, you know what's best for me." He said with a sigh.

"Listen, with all the weird stuff that happens to us, we've got to be really extra careful about things like this. Losing sleep can make you really sick in a hurry. Plus, I'm upset you didn't come to me about it."

"I didn't think it was all that big a deal."

"Big enough you had to ask Mom to prescribe sleep medicine?" She shot back, a little ire creeping into her voice.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, both of them lost in their thoughts. Not wanting to end an otherwise great weekend on a sour note, she put he hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. She pulled up to the curb, still several blocks from his house. Leaning toward him she kissed him, her right hand going toward his cheek, her left wrapping around his waist and plunging a few inches into the back of his pants. Pretty soon, both sets of hands were exploring freely, hungrily.

"At this rate, we're not going to make it to our wedding night, are we?" She asked breathlessly.

"Probably not." He answered before going back to nibbling on her neck.

_Definitely a turtleneck day tomorrow_, she thought as his large hand caressed the small of her back under her jacket and top. A finger slipped under the strap across her back.

TAP-TAP-TAP!

In a move practiced by almost every teenager in the country, one that hadn't been employed now for over two years, the couple suddenly snapped back into their respective seats. Kim rolled the window down for the smiling police officer.

"Aren't you getting a little old for 'parking,' Miss Possible?"

"I, uh, was just telling Ron goodnight." She said, her face turning the same shade of bright red the mutable paint of her car was currently set on.

"Looks like it was going to be a_ good_ night." The officer said, his grin getting slightly wider.

Ron opened his door and got out. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kim." He leaned in and kissed her one more time.

"You two be careful. That Monkey fellow is still on the loose." The officer said as he got back on his motorcycle.

Ron watched Kim's car pull away after the policeman. He waved until she turned the corner and slowly started toward his house. His mind was awhirl, processing, or at least trying to process everything that occurred over the weekend, The fight in the museum with the Fists (WRONGSICK – the Fists, not the fight) the truth about the Tempus Simia (though he still only knew his own point-of-view) the near-fight with Kim (how did she always know what's best for him?) and finally her admission that she really was ready (BOOYAH!) all mixing together, each fighting for supremacy.

Most of all, he thought about Kim. Their promise to each other had been made when they were eighteen. Was saying they were more adult now just a way of rationalizing their way around it? Was saving that for a wedding night almost sixteen months away fair to Kim if she was ready now? (okay, that made him chuckle slightly – denial of Ron shine is just sick and wrong!) Was denying himself fair to him? Was it even good for him?

The thought made him realize she had put the ball back in his court.

All he had to do was touch a key on his wristwatch and Kim would be back inside of five minutes and despite the fact they both had eight o'clock classes the next morning, the would find a private room!

No! Ready as they both were, this wasn't the time. There would be nothing special about it except being the first. Special would have been the Chalet they reluctantly left that morning. Special would be some perfectly planned getaway!

He kept going back to how perfect it would be on their wedding night.

_GAH! Guys aren't supposed to think like this! I've been thinking about this for what, six years?_

Making his mind up to not make his mind up yet, he stuffed his hands into his pockets to fish out his house keys. The porch light was off, which was uncommon but not unusual. Once inside he found the note.

_Ron, we are driving up to Denver four a couple days. We should be back some time Tuesday. Love ya, give our love to Kim. Mom_

Kim, ready and willing (_unless I'm reading too much into what she said?)_ and I've got the house to myself? _Do I call Kim or do I need a really long, cold shower?_

_Am I insane?_

He was reaching for the call button on his Kimmunicator when a rough voice interrupted him.

"Stoppable!"


	6. The Tomb at the Gate

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

* * *

**_Chapter 5 - The Tomb at the Gate_**

* * *

Once the crew of the _U.S.S. Reynolds_ reported their findings to the appropriate authorities the first priority was to apply a proper label to the planet. The Department of Interstellar Navigation first assigned it a number based on the actually coordinates. That posed a special problem, as the planet was so far from the Point of Navigational Zero (Planet Earth on January 1st, midnight, Greenwich Mean Time) the numerical designation filled most of a page when printed out. That was fine for computers but not very convenient for real people.

Three traditions for naming a newly discovered world were bandied about. Probably the oldest was applying the name of the starship that was first to enter orbit, much in the same way inlets were often named for the first ship to cross them. Firestone, one of the most populous colonies, had been named that way. Unfortunately, one of the mining colony moons in the Hunderaga System was already called Reynold's World, so that was out. Next was naming it for the company that was responsible for funding the original expedition. Marsh Industries, on advice from legal counsel, quickly vetoed that option.

The sunless sphere went on the books as Rokowski's World, after the commanding officer of the _Reynolds_ when they first discovered it. That particular fact was roundly ignored by the exploration crew that returned almost two years later to unlock its secrets, despite the fact they were in the charge of Doctor Susan Rokowski once more. Many fanciful terms, many not very nice, were used by the hardy men and women but one, suggested by a slightly built woman with reddish blonde hair and brown eyes, stuck.

In the years to come, including once the results of the expedition were made public, the planet became known to all as _Black Hole Deep_.

The primary obstacle facing the explorers was lack of light. Not only was there no natural illumination, it seemed everything on the surface was iron black! Even the powerful floodlights mounted to the crawler seemed to be swallowed up by the inky blackness. The drivers were forced to concentrate the beams right in front of the vehicle to avoid impediments the scanners missed.

For three weeks their ship, a cargo vessel fitted with a Telewarp Drive, sat in orbit, taking exhaustive scans of the surface. The sphere looked perfectly round and smooth when viewed as a whole in the computer simulations but the lack of mountain ranges and oceans belied the true nature of the topography. With only a very thin atmosphere composed mainly of inert gasses and no abundance of space-borne debris to wear the surface smooth it was a continuous series of sharp crags and deep ravines.

The crawler was built with just that sort of terrain in mind. It resembled a ten legged insect, each segmented leg ending in a treaded, spherical wheel. Sensors built into the armatures would raise or lower each one, keeping the main cabin level, depending on the prevailing slope. The whole thing looked like a giant mutated cockroach equipped with its own light show. The crew had, jokingly, scrawled a name on the exterior, though it wasn't recognized as official by the proper owners.

They had dubbed it "_Roachie_."

The petite strawberry blonde, Jolene Stommble, a woman in her late twenties, was half way through her shift at the controls, as usual chewing on a plastic disposable pen, her uniform cap on backwards to keep the visor out of her eyes. Under normal conditions all the driver had to do was point the thing in the proper direction and hit the accelerator. Microcomputers kept the treads in contact with solid ground. At least that was the theory. In practice it took an accomplished driver to manually give each wheel a proper 'nudge' every so often.

With Jo at the controls you could tell just how frustrating a particular patch of ground was by what happened to her pen. Today the outer shaft was chewed beyond recognition. Not only did the craggy rock make it almost impossible to do anything but 'walk' the legs, it was being done in near pitch black.

_Oh well_, she told herself, _You can't stop a Stommble!_ Though her father never considered, with all the decades the war had raged, that it would end and she would be cashiered out of the Starforce with many student loans coming due. That meant taking a high-paying but incredibly difficult job like this one to get out of debt in a hurry. At least here the former combat tank commander didn't have Arkonians or Torellians shooting at her. The biggest worry at the moment was burning out the lamps in the floodlights. Actually, considering they were providing the only illumination on the whole planet, that was a very legitimate fear.

Jo hadn't told anyone on the crew, but she was deathly afraid of the dark.

"Hey, Doc!" She called from her domed seat. "It looks like we've got a major change in the landscape up ahead!"

Susan Rokowski appeared at the bottom of the ladder, her short brown hair tucked into a cap just like Jo's. "That isn't on the map." That didn't mean anything, considering how poorly detailed the scans were turning out to be.

"Well, either the scans missed this or my eyes are playing tricks on me and I'd far rather trust my eyes. This thing didn't even show up on the tracking radar until right before I could actually see it.

Susan climbed into the seat beside Jo. "That looks almost like an impact crater."

"How could there be an impact crater when we didn't detect any asteroids that could collide with the planet?"

"Just because there aren't any now doesn't mean there never were any. Stop at the edge, Jo. We may need a closer look before we decide to go though or around it."

The leading edge of the crater only rose a few meters, causing no difficulty for the crawler. The lights could not penetrate the darkness to the far side nor reach the floor. It was up to the radar to paint a clearer picture of the bowl shaped depression.

"It's two point three kilometers across, nearly perfectly circular. The floor is about thirty meters below the local mean terrain level. We can actually make better time cutting across it. The bottom appears to be perfectly smooth, much smoother than anything we've encountered so far." Jo reported, reading the radar returns.

Susan studied the three dimensional image the computer created with the radar data. "I take it back, I don't think this is an impact crater at all."

"No?"

"The shape is all wrong. It's too regular and the forces required to wear a normal crater down to these dimensions are not present here. Okay, Jo, I think you can take us in."

Jo keyed the microphone on her headset. "Attention all crew, attention, we are about to descend a slope that cannot be fully compensated for. Secure any work areas that can be affected by a change in our attitude."

Moments later the other dozen scientists and workers reported back that all was ready. She pushed the control forward and the first set of wheels rolled over the lip of the rim. It was becoming more and more evident to her it really wasn't a normal crater. On a nearly airless, moisture less globe such as this the rim should have been at least condensed dust, not a solid mass. The last set of wheels crossed the edge and the vehicle rolled slowly downward, leveling out at the bottom.

"I'm getting some weird returns." Jo said as they advanced on the center, her eyes more on the radar now than the actual ground.

"I'll say" Susan said, pointing outside.

The floor of the crater was not just flat, it was smooth, perfectly smooth. The computer refined the image again, revealing they were traversing a massive wedge shaped block. It interlocked with identical blocks on either side. The image resolved once more showing a complete ring of blocks around the entire inner circumference of the crater.

This was no crater! It was a construct!

Jo was so enraptured by the discover she almost didn't see the edge in time. She jammed on the brakes, one hand reaching for the thruster controls in case they couldn't stop in time. Only the first pair of wheels went over the edge before she could back the vehicle up.

"Okay, fresh undies time." She sighed in relief.

Susan looked back and forth between the canopy and the computer display. "This can't be right."

"It like the radar isn't reading anything. No mass, no atmo. It's like a hole in the planet." Jo said. She gripped a handle above her head and played one of the lights down the pit.

…and down, and down until the beam disappeared in the darkness.

"Jo, I'm beginning to think you might just be right." She touched a control on the communications console. "Morgan, have you got a lock on our position?"

"Gotcha." Came a voice from high orbit.

"We need a full detailed scan for about a three kilometer radius."

"You got it, chief. We'll be in position inside of five." Morgan Casman clicked off her comm, adjusting the orbit so they would pass over the crater.

Susan climbed down from the canopy to await the results on the main science console. She didn't have to wait long, as a significantly more detailed image of the crater and ringed pit appeared on the large holographic display.

"That's interesting." Teep said, studying a portion of the construct.

"More interesting than finding and artificially constructed ring on a planet with not sun to orbit, where it is utterly impossible for life to have evolved?" She smiled at the engineer, still happy to have most of her original crew on the expedition.

"Everything is relative. Compared to everything else, this is truly surprising."

"Okay, Teep, don't keep me in suspense."

"Well, I'm reading a pocket of atmo. About a hundred fifty feet to port."

"More CO2?"

"Yeah, but with oxy and nitrogen mixed in. We're talking Earth normal ratios here."

"How is that possible?"

"Near as I can tell, there's some kind of structure there. Might be a dome, I can't tell at this resolution."

Susan keyed her mike. "You get that Jo?"

"On it!" The crawler lurched slightly as it backed, then turned toward the indicated structure. "Susan, you need to see this!"

She climbed back up, staring at the glassine half sphere before them. It was made of interlocking shapes, much like a geodesic dome, but with other, many sided polygons instead of simple triangles. "Jo, turn the lights off!"

The floodlights dimmed but the dome remained lit with a soft glow and it wasn't the reflection of their cabin lights. The glow got brighter until they could make out individual details within. What was clearly an airlock lit up before them as if making an invitation.

They couldn't get into their environment suits fast enough.

The lock wasn't made of metal or plastic like they were used to, but seemed to instead be made of the same type of black stone everything else was. They spent a few moments trying to locate a control panel but were shocked when the doors opened by themselves. Slowly the doors swung shut and the lights inside the lock came up. Several tense minutes later the inner doors opened, admitting them into the main dome.

A computer built into her suit chimed. "We've got full breathable atmo." She reached up to the joint between her helmet and suit and broke the seal. As improbable as it was, she was breathing normal, if stale air just like home on Earth.

It was not a very large chamber, only about thirty feet across. In the center of the room was a staircase slowly spiraling downward into darkness. A half circle of stones set about waist high faced the kilometer wide pit outside.

Slowly it began to dawn on Susan what they were seeing.

"I think this thing is an Azarian Stargate!"

"Isn't this kind of small for one of those?" Jo asked. Some time in the distant past, a race of beings known only as Azarians had left a number of rough-hewn stone rings spaced at regular intervals around the cosmos. Several of them had been re-activated, allowing more rapid travel between worlds. It was a sort of portal, a gate, if you wish, that allowed a starship to traverse the same mysterious realm the Reynolds, and now the converted freighter to travel almost instantaneously across massive tracts of space. Jo's question was sparked by the fact all the gates found so far were at least twenty five kilometers across.

At a single kilometer, this one was quite small indeed.

As a scientist, Susan was aware of the original, ancient controls of the huge gates. Modern, sophisticated controls had been built over the top of them, including monitoring stations and other sophisticated scientific devices to maintain some semblance of control. It had not yet been discovered how they worked, but they knew how to use them as a tool.

Her curiosity piqued, Jo shined the lights mounted on her suit's arm down the darkened circular opening, tracing the curving staircase with the beam. Cautiously, for it was dark indeed down there, she made her way down. It wasn't as far down as she first expected.

Her short yelp brought Susan and Teep right down to her.

The bones looked as if they might have belonged to something that once looked like a man. If they had indeed, that man would have been over twenty feet tall. The bones were heavy looking, as if they were bigger than a creature that size would need. They were arraigned on the floor in much the pattern they had been when it was alive, but the connecting tissue had long since gone to dust.

The body may have resembled that of a man, but that's where the resemblance ended. The skull was completely different. It was long, tapering to the back, the neck bones looking as if they would be attached somewhere a third of the way back instead of just below the jaw. The jaw itself was filled with black, razor tipped teeth, looking more like something expected from a dinosaur or old or some creature beyond what was considered natural. These were not the teeth to rend sustenance, these were teeth meant to cause pain and death.

The spiny remains of wings completed the image. These were the dusty bones of a demon. There was no other explanation for them. How could these remains have been from some civilized creature?

Something bright caught Jo's eyes, sitting just off the center of the horrible skull. She approached it, trying to decide what exactly she was seeing. She reached out and touched it, finding it was quite solid and quite real. It was gold and black, and resembled a handle of some kind. She wrapped a gloved hand around it and pulled.

The skull crumbled into a cloud of dust as the object came free in her hand. As it settled she could finally make out what she was holding.

It was a sword!

It wasn't the size sword a creature of that stature would carry. It was just over three feet long, with a delicate curvature, ending in a long chiseled tip. It looked for all the world like a Japanese long sword of old.

"Don't touch anything else." Susan warned. "We don't want to destroy any more of this until we can document it.

Jo didn't seem to hear her. She could see her reflection in the bright blade. Strange characters were carved into the blade, running about a foot from the tang. None of them were familiar to her, but that seemed not to bother her in the least. Was this what caused the demise of the demon?

"Oh my lord." Teep said in a low voice.

He was bending over something at the edge of the lower level. It was hidden from Jo's view by his environment suit. Soon she heard the telltale sounds of a portable scanner.

Teep stood up and said one word. "Human."

Jo finally tore her eyes away from the sword and joined Susan beside Teep. At his feet was another skeleton, and, just as he said, it was obviously human. The man would have stood about six feet tall when alive. Now the bones were his only testament. A large gash at the top of the skull might have been an indication how the poor soul died. Most likely at the hands of the beast.

Perhaps they had been the doom of each other, the man burying the sword in the creature as it struck him down in turn.

Teep looked back at his scanner. "Now that is really weird."

"What's that?" Susan asked, looking over his shoulder at the readout.

"I did a scan for DNA since I was verifying the skeleton was human. I didn't have the comparison files I needed loaded on this unit since this isn't what I was expecting to scan for, so I did a quick scan of the three of us, just to be sure."

"So, it's close enough to any one of us to mean it's human. We can run more sophisticated tests when we get back to the crawler." Susan said.

"That's not it! See this? These are base pairs. One of the comparison samples is closer than the other two to the skeleton."

"And?" Jo asked, not sure where he was going.

"If that many base pairs are the same, it means the two donors are related in some way by blood."

"You mean that dead guy has the same DNA as one of us?" Susan asked, a horrified expression forming on her face.

"Not the same DNA, but related. Logically, this would mean this is an ancestor of one of us." He explained.

"Well, which one?" Susan almost shouted.

"Hold on, I didn't label the scans. I've got to run them one more time." He passed the scanner over himself and both women."

"Jo, meet your new family member." He said finally, pointing to the bones.


	7. From Memory

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 6: From Memory**

* * *

Kim sat in her car, a mixture of anger and concern rising. She checked her watch; ten after seven. She always picked Ron up at seven sharp on Monday so they would be on time for class. Barring bad traffic, the latest they could safely leave was seven twenty. 

_He must still be asleep_, she told herself. It had been terribly difficult for her to tall asleep herself as she mulled over what she had told him last night. She eve wore her Kimmunicator to bed, fully expecting it to go off any minute with Ron on the other end. She finally fell asleep clutching her Pandaroo, staring at it.

In the light of morning, Kim came to the realization she had been up half the night waiting for a booty call!

She woke that morning figuring she hadn't come out and said it clearly enough, she only implied it. She slapped her forehead, knowing she couldn't be that subtle with Ron. The only words he would understand would be "Right now, Ron!"

Plans for the next getaway were forming in her head. Renting the cabin again, no matter what the real cost was, breaking out a silk, shimmery thing from _Alexandria's Confession_ that neither Ron nor Kim's parents knew she owned. She made a mental note to thank Monique for suggesting she buy it!

She glanced at her watch again. It was seven fifteen.

She got out and walked around the house. Standing under his window she shouted "Come on, Ron, we're going to be late!"

No answer was forthcoming.

Concern started pushing aside anger. She half jogged, half ran back to the front of the house, getting out her keys. The Stoppables had given her a key not long after they officially announced their engagement.

The house seemed strangely quiet. She quickly climbed the stairs and rapped on his door. Still not getting an answer she opened the door, fully expecting the sight of him still sound asleep on his bed.

The bed was still crisply made. He never, ever made his own bed and it was rather unlikely his mother had ventured in to make it yet.

Where were his parents? Normally they would be here still, waiting for about eight to leave for their offices downtown, sitting at the kitchen table finishing off a pot of coffee.

She caught sight of the note from the top of the stairs. It had fallen unnoticed under the coffee table.

That explained where they were, but what about Ron?

Concern was edging toward panic. She touched the call button on her Kimmunicator, sending a signal directly to his instead of routing it through Wade's system. From somewhere in the house came the first bars of "Could it Be," Ron's special Ringtone for Kim. She cast about frantically, searching for the source of the music. It was coming from the living room but somehow sounded muffled. Before she could home in on it, the ringing stopped.

"You've reached Ron. If you're a super-villain, my name is Ron Stoppable. Please take note of it. If I can't answer that means I'm probably having a bon-diggity good time with Kim or I'm off helping her save the world or something. When you beep me, you know what to do!"

She shut off the signal, not wanting to hear the voice message again. Something black caught her eye, sticking out from under the sofa. She reached under the ruffled skirt and her fingers closed on something that made her heart go cold.

It was Ron's Kimmunicator.

Ever since Wade built the new units, now small enough to be worn as a bracelet by the female members of Team Possible or a sports-style watch for the boys Ron had very rarely taken his off. She even had to tell him to remove it during their down time as he had become so accustomed to wearing it. She hoped for a moment that this was his spare, but that idea was dashed quickly when she realized the spare wouldn't be active.

More chilling was the fact the plastic band had been torn.

Panic starting to grip her, she punched her main call button.

"Kim! What's wrong?" Wade asked, instantly reading her expression.

"Ron's not here! His bed hasn't been slept in and his Kimmunicator is still here!"

"Okay, I'm in my mother's car. I'll be at the Space Center in ten minutes. Don't worry, I've still got him chipped. When was the last time you saw him?"

"I dropped him off here at ten last night."

"Alright, I'll call you back when I get there and plug in."

"You rock, Wade." The hologram winked out.

Squinting, she noticed something else unusual on the floor. It was hair, specifically, coarse white hairs like one would find from a shedding animal of some sort. That didn't make a bit of sense . Ron's father was severely allergic to any kind of pet dander. If he got anywhere near a furry animal his face would swell up in hives and he would have to take a special injection he kept on him just to keep breathing normally. That's why Ron owned a Naked Mole Rat in the first place.

Where was Rufus? She hoped he was with Ron. Pit bulls had nothing on the little pink guy when it came to protecting his big buddy!

BEEP-BEEP-DE-BEEP.

"Go, Wade!"

"Kim, I've got a lock on his chip, but…"

"But what, Wade?"

"…I, I'm not getting any biometrics from it."

"What does that mean?" She asked, a quaver in her voice.

"Stay calm, Kim. The chip is old and it may be malfunctioning. It hasn't been accessed in a couple years since I rely mainly on your Mark 3 Kimmunicators now. It may just have slipped into passive mode. At any rate, I'm reading it right there in the house with you! I'm overlaying a schematic of the house…Upstairs! Looks like he's in his own bathroom!"

Kim was sprinting up the stairs before he could complete the last word. She threw open the door and turned on the lights.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the sink. Sitting at the bottom was something black, about the size of a grain of rice, sitting in a small pool of blood.

"Wade?"

"I'm right here, Kim."

"What does the chip look like?"

"It's a tiny little capsule shape, about a quarter inch long."

She picked the object up and held it up to the scanner. "Is this it?"

He took a moment to answer. "I'm afraid so." He admitted, not wanting to considering the look in her eyes.

Kim dropped to her knees, tears starting to flow. Somebody had Ron and they knew exactly how to keep anyone from finding them.

"Kim, please," Wade pleaded, "Ron is almost as good as you now. I'm sure he is alright. If they took out his chip that means they need him for something." Wade tried to sound hopeful.

Through her sobs, Kim thought she heard something. It was faint at first but it became clearer as she paid attention to it.

Scratching!

It was coming from the cabinet!

She opened the door, releasing a frantic Rufus. He scampered to the top of the counter and squeaked "Monkey!"

"Rufus, was Monkey Fist here?" Kim asked, a cold terror gripping her.

"Uh huh, uh huh." He nodded.

"Maybe Monkey Fist knows what happened to Ron when he touched the Time Monkey." Wade theorized.

"This time, Mystical Monkey Powers or no, I'm taking down Monkey Fist!" Kim growled.

"His Monkey Powers have fled." Came a weak, distant sounding voice.

Kim ripped the shower curtains aside with a surge of hope. Lying there on his back, rubbing his scalp was Ron. Now crying freely, Kim scooped him up, crushing him in a hug.

"Ow, Kim, watch my neck, OW!"

She let go of him and turned him around. There was a bloody sore there where something small had been gouged out. _So that's where they are_, she thought, a hand involuntarily checking the same location on her neck. If it was there, it was too deep to feel with just her fingertips.

"So Monkey Fist did this to you?" She asked, dabbing the wound with a damp rag, cleaning some of the dried blood away.

"Fist was here?" He asked, perplexed.

"You just said his 'monkey power had fled'" She mimicked the gravity he had used to proclaim the fact.

"I did? I don't remember him being here? Are you sure?"

"Well, that's what Rufus said."

"White Monkey!" he squeaked in agreement, trying to be helpful.

"I really don't know about Monkey Fist or any 'White Monkey'..."

"I found some white animal hairs downstairs with your broken Kimmunicator." She handed it to him as his hand automatically went to his bare wrist.

"All I saw was some chubby older guy in funky robes who kept going on and on about finding some sword. It sounded like he was calling it the _Sword of the Fury_ or something."

"Sword of the Fury? Sounds like a bad Kung Fu movie or something."

"Well, he was using some weird word that sounded like fury. F Fury I think."

_F Fury? Why did that sound familiar?_

"Next thing I know, his goons grab me from behind and he starts babbling about unnatural science while he starts digging at my neck with a wavy looking dagger."

"They took out the tracking chip Wade put on you." She squeezed some antibiotic ointment on the wound and pressed a square of gauze onto it, finishing with some strips of white tape.

"Next thing I know I'm in the tub and I'm hearing voices. I didn't really wake up good until you opened the curtain and I saw you." He winced as Kim checked his scalp. "Ow!"

"Somebody clocked you good." She gingerly inspected the lump on his head. "You know what that means!"

"You're going to kiss it and make it better?"

"Yes, but it also means we're going to the Medical Center to get you checked out."

"Aw, man, come on. I'd rather have you just kiss me."

"I'm not going to stop that." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and helped him to his feet. He was rather wobbly, making her glad she was taking him to the emergency room. Knocked out twice over the weekend, he would be lucky if he didn't have a concussion.

Before they could leave he sat down on the edge of the tub, making her afraid he was worse off than she figured he was. "I should have stayed with you last night." She sort of relieved he was just being down on himself.

"I don't think Daddy is quite ready for us to share a bed under his roof."

"No, Kim. I mean I shouldn't have gotten out of the car last night. We should have gone ahead and found us some place private and…well, if that's what you really meant last night." He looked up at her, hopefully, not wanting to have misunderstood.

"I…I think, I mean yes, yes that's what I meant. I wish you had stayed, I really do, but now isn't the time to regret that…" She stopped, seeing the look in his eyes. "Ron, we are going to make that time, I promise you. Right now, let's get that head of yours looked at."

She pulled him to his feet again. They turned to leave as Wade's voice broke in.

"Uh, guys, I'm still here you know."

"Eep, sorry about that, Wade. That was meant to be a bit private."

"No kidding, but, despite the fact I'm now scarred for life, that's not the worst of it."

"Huh?" they said in unison.

"Kim, you know where I am, don't you?" he said, his eyes half lidded.

"You're in your lab, aren't you?" Ron asked for her.

"Ron, I'm at work. I'm on the bridge of the _Trinity_."

Ron just looked confused, but the full ramifications of what Wade said hit Kim like a runaway train.

"DADDY?"

"I'm sorry, Kim, he was standing right over my shoulder the whole time, trying to make sure the two of you were okay. I didn't say anything until he just silently turned around and left."

Instead of turning red, Kim turned white as a ghost

* * *

The hazy image of a Katana floated in front of them. Wade adjusted some controls and the image got clearer. 

Ron stared at the sword, his arms crossed, lost in thought. He was still far too concerned by the look Kim's father had given him when he entered the bridge of the starship. He felt about an inch tall, as if he had disappointed the man he respected more than almost any other in the world.

A look at Kim told him she was in the same boat.

"It's the right general shape, but the grip is a little shorter." He held a finger up to the blade of the phantom weapon. "I think the edge stops here, unlike a regular katana, and there are strange symbols carved in it up to that point. The grip ends in something like a spade." Ron was doing his best to remember the details of the weapon he had seen in his nightmare. Concerned, Kim had her arm wrapped around his waist. She had been there when he awoke and had seen the terror in his eyes.

It couldn't be a coincidence that Ron had his dream about a sword and a robed stranger was about, looking for it.

"Did you say it had runes?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, but I'll be darned if I can remember exactly what they looked like. They weren't Japanese or Chinese, or at least I don't think so."

Wade rubbed his chin, scratching the beginnings of a 'soul patch' beard. He modified the image as Ron suggested.

"That's closer. The guard and the end of the grip looked like they were made of gold. Yeah, and there was some symbol on the spade thingy that looked like a cross between a J and a T."

"A J and a T? I've seen that on a sword before!" Wade said, his fingers dancing on the keyboard. The katana image shrank and moved off to the side, replaced with the image of another sword, one totally unlike what Ron was trying to remember.

It was a two edged sword, the grip wrapped in black leather, the wide guard made of gold. The more Ron looked at it, the wider his eyes got.

"Those are the markings, I'm sure of it, and the thing on the spade thingy. The rest of the sword is different, but that's exactly what I saw!"

"Are you sure you weren't just mixing details?" Wade asked. "You are more familiar with katanas than you are other kinds of swords. It was a dream, after all."

"No, Wade. I can't tell you why, but I think these are two different swords. Maybe the same person made them, I don't know. Now, where is this one.?"

"That's the thing. You've seen this sword in person before and there is absolutely no way we can ever see it again." He reset the image, replacing the sword with an hologram of a slender woman with long black hair wielding the sword.

For a moment Ron thought it was Shego, then he remembered who the woman was. It wasn't Shego, though in a way it really was her.

Over three years ago they had encountered a group of people who turned out to be from a completely different reality, another version of their universe. Some of them even had counterparts here in their universe. One, a woman named Dona Argus, who, despite looking like she was in her mid twenties, was actually nearly sixty. When her powers, plus that of her husband and one other warrior, were restored, the weapon had appeared.

Kim gasped.

"Ron, you said they were looking for something called 'F Fury?'"

"Yeah, it was something like that."

"Could they have been saying 'Effurien?"

"That's it, yeah."

Wade started frantically typing. "Accessing the Trinity's database. Now, granted, most of it is copied from a computer that came from Dona Argus' universe, so it might not be right here, but it may offer some clues to what we're talking about. Here it comes."

A balding, heavyset man wearing dark robes appeared in the hologram. Before he could speak, Ron screamed, backing away from the image.

"That's him! That's the guy who grabbed me!"

"Are you sure?" Wade asked. "This is from the Valkyrie's database, he's not even from our universe."

"Of course I'm sure. That's the guy who stuck the knife in my neck!" Ron was actually starting to get a little angry.

"Amp down Ron." Kim said. "Maybe it's our universe's version of this guy Ron saw. Back it up and let's here what he has to say, Wade."

The image reset and the man began speaking again. "I am Acera Uri, chief scholar of the Church of the True Master. Today I will discuss with you the three aspects of the Effurien. While the race that ascended to create what we refer today by that name consisted of many millions of individuals, we know then today by their three aspects. T'Dragma, Conga'alatta and Ma'ar'kus. In modern speech, we refer to them as The Hand, the Sword and the Wisdom of the Effurien."

"The sword of the Effurien, that's what he was looking for!" Ron said.

Kim shushed him, wanting to hear what the man had to say.

"The Hand is often considered the most powerful of the avatars. The historical accounts of the Hand are the best documented, almost always referring to a hero of great strength.

"The Sword of the Effurien is used to describe either a mythical weapon or the warrior who wields it. The sword carried by the False Podondrin was often called by this name, but it was discovered his weapon was indeed a fake." An image of a black sword, very similar to Dona's sword appeared momentarily. "The sword is often the second to arise, after the Wisdom has arisen.

"The Wisdom is actually the most powerful, and perhaps the most dangerous of all the avatars. His powers, while not as obvious as the others, can affect time and space itself."

Wade stopped the playback. "It goes on and on about that, mostly about how religion on the planet Arkonia is centered on the return of these 'Knights of the Effurien.' Look at this."

The katana took the center image once more. He overlaid the runes and made them curve to fit the blade. After a few more tweaks, he could see the excitement in Ron's eyes.

"That's it." He said with a surprisingly calm nod.

"So, supposing this sword actually exists in the real world, how are we supposed to find it?" Kim asked.

"I don't know, KP, but somehow I think it's important we do before this 'Sarah Uri' character does." Ron said, his face more serious than anyone had ever seen before.


	8. Heart to Heart

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Chapter 7: Heart to Heart**

* * *

The tiny, two seat transport streaked across the Northern Atlantic at almost three times the speed of sound. The steady roar of the four small ion engines, while far quieter than more conventional means of propulsion, made enough noise that conversation without headsets was nearly impossible. The young couple had hoped to talk during the flight but had given up fairly quickly, considering the same inter-helmet communicators were used when speaking with home base.

Kim nor Ron were in any mood to have any more private conversations overheard.

The craft was a prototype of a design Wade was working on, based on his research on the Trinity as well as images he found in her data banks. He was certain the inner workings of the tiny but fast flyer were far cruder than its twenty-fifth century counterparts, but it was still about the size of a compact car, capable of trans-sonic speeds and virtually undetectable by conventional tracking systems. The last was a little dash of Wade's own stealth technology that he often employed on his Wade-Bots.

The design he based it upon was originally a tandem seat arraignment. Knowing who would most likely use it, he made it instead into a side by side. That allowed the couple to spend the vast majority of the flight holding hands, especially considering any meaningful conversation was out of the question. Wade realized his mistake as soon as the two started getting quiet and outright promised them he would get better sound damping for it.

In the twenty-fifth century, the flyer was known as a "Fox." It was a military design, intended to carry a fairly large projectile weapon mounted above the canopy like a huge recoilless rifle. Only lightly armored, they were used for close support, where they could get in and out of an area quickly, relying on speed and agility rather than sitting and slugging it out like a tank would. In a moment of inspiration, Wade painted it blue. Kim smiled and hugged him when she caught the meaning.

Kim checked their progress. They were about two-thirds through their planned flight. Both she and Ron had been checked out on the controls (any guesses who proved the more proficient with it?) but this particular flight was totally pre-programmed. Once over their target, they would open the canopy and deploy their newly rebuilt Blaster-Packs – complete with safer, more efficient ion power plants – and drop in on their target, hopefully undetected.

She was worried and the worst part about it was she didn't know why. Ron had been captured before, he had been injured before. He had even been shot, yet he seemed to always come out of it okay. Better than okay! If the old cliché about 'what doesn't kill me makes me stronger' could be believed, it was certainly true about Ron.

Was it the fact that too many unexplained things were happening to him lately? Was all of this because he had his mysterious Monkey Power? Was it something deeper? Two and a half years ago that wizard had seemed to think so, though nothing else ever came of it. They had both finally decided that, when Neil died, whatever destiny he was supposed to fulfill died with him, releasing Ron from being part of that destiny.

Kim wasn't sure it worked that way. Destiny has a way of sneaking up on you.

What did seem clear to them was that this 'Uri' person, be he a scholar or wizard or what, certainly seemed interested in acquiring this 'Sword of the Effurien' thing. Knowing nothing at all about him besides what he looked like, they had to follow the only trail they did know about. According to what they could understand of Rufus' squeaks, Monkey Fist had been involved in the attack on Ron in some way. There was also the clue of the white hairs, which Wade was able to identify as being simian, though of what sort he couldn't readily say.

How had Ron gotten upstairs, in his own shower? He had been grabbed in the living room downstairs. He could only remember flashes of the fight, the old man using a ritual dagger of some sort to remove his tracking chip, somebody hitting him over the head, things like that. He didn't remember having his Kimmunicator ripped from his wrist and he didn't remember fleeing up the stairs or something. Taking him to his own bathroom to cut out the chip didn't make sense. If they needed water, they could have dragged him to the kitchen of the more accessible main bathroom they had to pass on their way to his room. They finally assumed he did try to flee and that is where they caught him. They had no way of knowing otherwise.

But why had they gone to the trouble of removing the chip, a device virtually undetectable without the requisite scanning devices. Kim couldn't even feel hers, though Wade assured her that it was indeed imbedded beneath the skin on the back of her neck. (Somehow, she always forgot to ask Wade _exactly_ how the chips had been implanted! – he even mentioned Ron had a new one now, though how it was installed and where it was located was not mentioned)

She gave his hand a little squeeze. She always like holding his hand. It was an act that, at the same time was perfectly innocent, yet so full of intimate meaning. Ron had big hands, big, warm strong hands, yet they were surprisingly gentle. For such a naturally clumsy man, his touch always seemed so soft, so warm. It was holding his hand Kim silently announced to her world that she had chosen Ron. No, she hadn't just chosen him, they had chosen each other and at that moment, they were ready to share that realization with everyone. The instant they arrived at their Junior Prom holding hands, everyone knew in the space of a heartbeat they had become one.

Holding hands also had the added benefit of keeping Ron from playing with the controls, possibly sending them crashing into the icy interior of Greenland!

Becoming one…

That thought alone was so full of meaning. It took them twelve years to fully realize how in love they really were. Their hearts were one long before their minds were aware of it.

Their hearts and their minds were one.

That left only their bodies.

She had no doubts that she was ready. It was supposed to be an act of love and any doubts that she absolutely and totally loved Ron had been washed away long ago. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together. This time they were both ready and willing, neither of them forcing the other because of more selfish desires. This was the 'perfect time' everyone wished for, where it would be not just the union of their bodies, but the union of their souls.

Then there was her father. She loved her father so much, but sometimes he actually frightened her. She knew the effect he could have on Ron. How far would he go to protect her 'virtue?'

She could feel her own heart hammering in her chest when he took Ron aside as they were preparing for their mission…

* * *

"Ronald, have a seat please."

Doctor Possible's office was something Ron very rarely saw. For one thing, it wasn't a general meeting place, it was just a work space where he could do the tasks of his job that didn't involve a lab. It was comfortable, homey and very cluttered with all sorts of books, papers and computer media. The chaos was the direct opposite of his lab, which was clean, neat and orderly. You could tell where his priorities lay. At least when it came to his chosen profession.

James Timothy Possible sat back in his sophisticated looking leather chair, regarding the young man sitting across from him with cool eyes. Even just over four short years ago he could never have imagined this day, that Ron, a person he never considered to be anything other than his daughter's best friend until they returned home from their Junior Prom, would put him in this particular position.

"Ronald…Ron, do you know what I heard this morning?"

Ron could feel the sweat breaking out on his brow. His heart leaped up into his throat when Kim's father called him into his office. He had been dreading this moment since he had set foot at the Space Center that afternoon after their last class. Fortunately, he had nothing more than a bump on the head and a nasty gash on the back of his neck where his chip had been forcibly removed. A fresh bandage and a novel's worth of forms later, he was on his way to his late-morning classes. A quick call by Kim got their assignments and some copies of the notes from the early classes they had missed, so everything was back on track with school. Much as they feared, the work load between now and Spring Break was considerable. It would be a good long while before they had another chance for a carefree weekend together.

That thought brought him straight back to his current predicament.

"I, uh, yeah, well…" Ron stopped and took a deep breath, held it for a second then exhaled. "You heard us starting plans to make love." There, he came out and said it. There was no way around what they had said that would be anything other than dishonest.

"I thought so." He let that hang in the air for a few seconds. "Do you know what else I heard?"

Ron was having cold chills. He had only been conscious a few minutes when Kim's father had overheard their conversation. What did he mean?

"Well, I'll tell you…" He paused again, forcing Ron to meet his gaze.

"…I heard my daughter, who is one of the strongest people I know, frantic, almost to tears over the fact that something might have happened to you. I heard her crying with joy when she found you and you were relatively okay.

"Yes, I heard the part where you two said what you said and I admit, I was shocked and embarrassed to hear it. I had to come back here and sit down for a long while, thinking about what I overheard. Do you know what it was I really heard?"

"Uh, no sir."

"I heard two young people who totally love each other making careful, loving plans with each other. You were making honest and thoughtful and, frankly, quite adult decisions. I also heard the two of you respecting my family's home with your plans.

"I admit it, right when it happened, I was angry. That's why I walked away without saying anything and boy, am I glad I did, because the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how good the two of you are for each other. Much as I hate to admit it, the two of you are grown-ups. You're not children any more and you don't need to be protected like children. Your words and actions prove that to me. What the two of you were discussing should have been private, not because you were going behind anyone's back, but because that sort of thing just should be private. It's none of my business any more.

"I wanted to talk to you because I knew you would think I was angry with you. I can't say I'm comfortable knowing all of that right now, but I've come to accept that it's because it was supposed to stay just between the two of you. I wanted to let you know I'm not angry and I am so proud of the two of you."

"You…you're not going to send me to the black hole?"

"No, Ron. You were a teenager then and so was Kim. She was a minor and still my responsibility and I did what I did because I wanted to protect her. This isn't about protecting her any more. If I want to do what is best for Kim, that means minding my own business now. What is most importance is her happiness and me playing the overprotective father isn't going to lead there."

James walked around the front of his desk and sat on the edge, looking down at a shocked and relieved Ron Stoppable. "Ronald, I was always worried about Kim running around with boys, yet I never once worried about you. You're not a boy, as much as Jim and Tim are, you're my son and you're part of our family! In effect, you've saved me from all the heartache or worrying whether she was out with a boy who was good enough for her. Like I said, you're not a boy, you are a man." He stood up and held out his hand to Ron.

Ron stood up and offered his own hand and was pulled into a great big hug by the older man.

When he finally let go, he said "Now, you know, if you ever do anything to hurt my Kimmie-cub…"

"Black hole deep?" Ron smiled.

"Black hole deep!" James confirmed.

* * *

"Are you going to even tell me what he said, Ron?"

"I'm going to tell you when we get home."

She shook her head. One thing she didn't like was when Ron bottled stuff up inside. If her father threatened him in any way again, she was really going to let him have it this time. Who did he think he was? They were twenty for goodness sakes, not fifteen! They were old enough to vote, old enough to enter into binding contracts. Old enough to fight and die for their country if the need became great enough. They were certainly old enough to decide if they were going to make love!

She shoved that thought to the back of her mind as they crossed the coast of England. They were minutes from their target, a now-decrepit manor in the Southern Britain countryside. One final time she checked the harness of her blaster-pack and clipped the seat harness loose. A glance to her right told her Ron was doing the same. He had his "Go Time" grin on and she knew he was focused.

The canopy opened to a strange calm. Instead of a blast of wind as their ride flew at over three hundred miles per hour (they slowed WAY down for the jump) there was only the sound of the engines. A magnetic shield was being projected in front of them, protecting them from the rush of air. With one last look at each other, they leaped into the air, clear of the "Blue Fox."

The air hit them in earnest as the new, slender wings snapped open. They watched as their ride sailed off into the stratosphere, awaiting a recall signal. If not for the roar of the wind, they would have heard the wings start to hum, gravitational generators producing lift. Tiny ion engines flared to life and they began their spiraling decent.

It was well after midnight in this part of England, the clouds and mist obscuring the moonlight. Only the heads-up display on their goggles kept them on track to their target. The looming dark emerged from the mists right before them as they slowed their descent.

They lighted on the rooftop, careful not to dislodge any loose shingles. The wings snapped together like an insects, then retracted up into their backpacks. The new packs were about a third of the weight of their old ones, so they would not have to discard them as quickly. That would help if it became necessary to leave in a hurry.

Kim held a fist up to a dormer window. The dark colored fabric of her newest super-suit flowed with a soft crackle of energy. A red tip protruded just above her hand, emitting a thin red laser beam. In seconds the lock was cut and they were inside.

She looked back and couldn't keep from smiling. Ron had his own super-suit now, but he still wore his dark gray cargos over the top of it. Something about not looking 'manly' enough running around in what was essentially tights. Then too, the multitude of pockets provided Rufus with a more comfortable place to ride!

She smiled because his eyes were trained right on her posterior. She had no compunctions about wearing just the suit and she appreciated _his_ appreciation of her derriere!

Despite her suggestions that she liked looking at his butt, he would not be dissuaded from wearing the Smarty Mart cargos. Ah well, they still fell often enough and she really could see much more of him than with his boxers!

_Head in the game, Possible_, she had to remind herself. _Plenty of time to admire the male physique later!_

They emerged on a balcony overlooking a great hall. Ron recognized it instantly as the same place he had tracked Monkey Fist to when he was searching for Kim's lost library book. There was the same throne. It seemed someone was sitting there, but he was cloaked in shadow.

Kim and Ron fired their wrist-grapplers into a cross-beam near the ceiling and swung down to the floor, half way to the throne.

Small dark shapes came at them from all angles. Kim cart wheeled away, trying to keep ahead of the onslaught of Monkey Ninjas. Ron stood his ground, dropping into his fighting stance, knocking the small fighters away as they advanced on him.

The battle lasted only minutes, leaving the young couple only barely winded. They stood fully up and approached the seated figure. Slowly, their eyes adjusted to the dim light and they both gasped.

"So, have you two come to gloat? Or perhaps you wanted to thank me, Ron Stoppable?"

"Thank you? Thank you for what? Knocking me out and stealing the Tempus Simia?"

"No, you fool, for saving your miserable life from that wizard?

"You saved me? Wha?"

Monkey Fist stood up and stepped into the light. What they saw shocked them.

His mane of unruly hair had turned utterly white. His face was creased with wrinkles and he was walking with the aid of a cane. Then they noticed why he needed the aid. He was wearing slippers!

Ron took a closer look at the hand that gripped the jeweled cane. It was a normal, human hand, not the chimp paw that DNAmy's genetic mutations had granted him. The tufts of monkey hair were gone.

Kim gasped. White hairs! White _Monkey_ hairs!

They saw Amy advance from a side door, coming to stand beside her husband. "That foul meanie did this to my Monty! He stole his Mystical Monkey Power, but that wasn't enough…"

"Whatever that old wizard did to me, it is interacting with the genetic modifications Amy did to give me monkey hands and feet. It is causing me to age rapidly." He stopped and took a deep breath. "Yes, Stoppable, I'm dying." Fist said with utter bitterness.


	9. The Witch and the Widow

**The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: _Blade of the Fury_**

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**The Witch and the Widow**

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Some time after the third day, Neil lost track of how far he had traveled. His boots, if the thin leather footwear could even be called that, were almost worn through. The army was making a forced march from the plains around the city of Cyn to the north, hoping to intercept the invading army from the northern continent. At least that is what filtered down to the conscripts at the vanguard of the force. He had been given a shabby over-tunic, a helmet that was little more than a bowl of pounded bronze and a long spear with a diamond shaped head. Other conscripts, hundreds of them, at least that he had seen, marched along with him. Soldiers wearing what could only be called armor if they were going up against an enemy as poorly armed as Neil bossed, shouted and cursed them into loose ranks to begin the march.

Somehow a week and a day passed simply putting one foot in front of the other. The spring rains had come and the road was nothing more than a sloppy muddy gap in the heavily forested landscape. They would stop only long enough for hard tack and water to be passed around, then they would take up their spears once more, slogging their way toward some unknown destination.

_Okay, I left the farm where there was a hot woman who made it abundantly clear that she wanted to jump my bones why?_ Neil would ask himself from time to time. _Was it only because I had some vague notion I belong to someone else, someone who, despite trying and trying I can't remember? What was I thinking?_

His arrival at the walls of the ancient city of Cyn marked the beginnings of the downward spiral of his fortunes. While old, with crumbling, disused walls, the city was a thriving center for trade. In a month of travels he was beginning to like this new home of his. People had been kind, offering him food and shelter when he needed it. In turn, he offered his services when asked. There was always something that a strong young man could do and his help was always appreciated. He had a small sum of money in his pouch, a simple but serviceable sword strapped to his back and his knowledge of the language was growing by leaps and bounds.

Neil's problem, though, was that he was immediately marked as an outlander. First of all, he was tall. As he reckoned it, he was exactly six feet tall. They called it something else here, but in the end, he stood a full head taller than the average man. That helped him in the bustling crowds of the city but it had a distinct disadvantage of drawing added attention to him.

Then there was the matter of his accent.

It wasn't too bad. People had absolutely no problem understanding him but try as he might to disguise it, it was still there. As nice as the people in the surrounding countryside had been, the city dwellers seemed to regard him with vague suspicion. There was something about foreigners they seemed to distinctly dislike.

He also found he drew the attention of criminals.

Neil felt the 'cutpurse' literally cut the strings of his pouch and start to run away. He was a split second too slow and the thief took the opportunity to try and disappear into the crowd. The pickpocket ducked into a narrow alley and poured the few copper coins into his hand, throwing the leather pouch onto the ground. He didn't see the fist coming straight for his nose. After that, he wouldn't see anything at all for a little while. He was scooping up his coins and trying to re-tie his pouch when the soldiers arrived. Somehow they got the wrong impression of the scene, or, at least that's what he thought at first. He was summarily arrested and hauled away. They paid no mind to the petty criminal. Later he learned the pickpocket had been fully up to date on his protection money. Oh, how nice, the local police force in the business of extorting money from the thieves instead of protecting the citizenry from them.

His experiences before arriving at the city had left him rather naïve. Neil found himself clapped in irons for trying to recover what was rightfully his. Suddenly the though of putting up with Yavvi's advances, whether he actually had a wife, lover or girlfriend elsewhere didn't seem so bad.

He was dragged before a magistrate who, with casual disinterest looked him up and down while reading the charge of assault and theft upon a citizen. Without so much as asking for his side he ordered him thrown into a cell and chained. The cell was large and he was surprisingly by himself.

That only lasted for a day.

Right away he noticed something strange about the prisoners put in with him. Every single one of them could be described as 'able bodied.' A vague notion of what might actually be going on started to form in his head. His memory from before the farm house might have been lost to him, but he was by no means stupid. His suspicions were confirmed when a Captain of the army of Dagan arrived, making demands that he see the prisoners at once. They were roughly pushed out of the cell and lined up for the man to examine. He walked up and down the line, muttering about culling the dregs, scraping the bottom and such. Finally, he pulled a heavy pouch from his belt and brazenly counted out a number of silver coins to the magistrate, not the least bit concerned that one of the prisoners might report this bit of petty corruption. What came next, Neil could almost hear the words in his head before the man said them. The offer was simple: Clemency in return for service in Lord Tanith Moondagan's army in a campaign against a band of northern invaders. Refuse and they would carry out the rest of their sentences. Neil raised an eyebrow to that, since he hadn't been told exactly what his sentence was. The rest of the prisoners were jumping at the chance. Apparently they already knew that service in a coming battle was more desirable than remaining here. To a man they agreed. Visions of glorious battle filled their heads, even Neil's. He had the image of knights cresting a hill on horseback, resplendent in their armor, of charges down that hill into a mass of vile enemies. Battle and glory!

The crushing reality was something far different. There were no swords, only the inordinately long spear he judged was only fit to meet a cavalry charge with. There was no armor save the poor excuse for a helmet, itself probably scavenged from a battlefield if the poorly mended crease across the brow were any indication.

He was part of a sacrificial first wave.

Escape did not seem an answer. The 'sergeants' made it abundantly clear what would happen to deserters. They would become marked men, hunted down by every soldier in Moondagan's army. He knew that wouldn't be the case, as every man would be needed in the coming battle. He had no idea where he might flee to anyway. That meant, once the battle was joined, it was his job to stay alive no matter what the cost. He still had his wits and, if the Effurien were willing, he might just have what it takes to prevail.

The Effurien? Why did it seem so strange to believe in what these people did by faith? Why was there a touch of warning in his mind?

They had been roused from a fitful slumber just after dawn to form ranks once more. Only this time they did not set out to march. He found himself on the front line, his spear resting by its butt on the ground, the point held aloft with the shaft cradled on his left arm as the other conscripts around him did. He looked to his right and left. The line stretched as far as he could see in each direction.

A few hundred yards away another army was arrayed against them. The front line looked like a forest of black spears, only these were somewhat shorter and lighter, a type more easily thrown. The soldiers were just close enough to make out specific details, things like swords, maces, axes, flails and other weapons he could not readily identify were held at the ready. The spearmen almost all had shields, another major difference than his side. The force was perhaps half the size of the Daganite army but he judged them to be a superior fighting force.

The vanguard of conscripts was there merely to soften them up. Moondagan would try to tire the mainlanders before committing his own regular troops. Here on the front lines the regional lord's mistake was evident. He expected to face a mounted force. That was the one and only value of the long spears. They were made to plant in the ground, braced for a cavalry charge. Here they would only be good for one thrust and they would be effectively disarmed. Once a battle was joined, only a shorter weapon would be truly effective.

A man on a large horse, followed by two more bearing standards trotted out into the field. They waited that way for what must have been ten minutes before the captain who had claimed the conscripts at the jail made his way out to them on foot. It quickly occurred to Neil that this might indeed be intended as a sort of insult. That thought was borne out when the men on horseback shouted something angrily at the captain, turned in a rage and galloped back behind their lines. Moments later a great shout went up in their ranks.

Slowly the army advanced on them. Some sort of horn was blown and his line moved forward, though without any great cheer or battle cry. In moments he was running, the pike held high. The two armies crashed into each other and the battle was joined. As his spear found its first mark, Neil discovered something incredible.

He knew how to fight!

The useless spear was wrenched out of his hands as the head jammed into something. No matter, now that the fighting was hand-to-hand is was more in the way than anything else. What he lacked in weaponry, he made up for in ferocity. He was dimly aware that his helm was torn away by a glancing blow. Again it did not matter. His hands closed on the shaft of some kind of weapon and he came up swinging. A spear had broken about two feet from the head and he swung it in a deadly arc, using it partially to batter the enemy, partly as if it were a sword itself.

Battle rage descended on him like a red mist but somehow he managed to remain detached, as if he were simply an observer looking in from the outside. Then even that was lost in the fog of war.

Some how, some way, it was finally over. He stood there on the battlefield, trying to catch his breath. Dimly he was aware of Daganite regulars all around him, running past him as they chased the fleeing northerners. Every so often a uniformed soldier would clap him on the shoulder. Looking down at his blood soaked hands, he discovered he no longer held the broken spear, but a sword in one hand, a short handled axe in the other.

Exhausted, he dropped the weapons and fell to the ground. He was unaware of the strong hands that carried him to the tents of the officers.

* * *

He stood alone. A bonfire that had raged like an inferno earlier had burned down to mostly coals, with a small pile of remaining logs burning steadily in its center. He drank in the warmth of the guttering flames, chasing away the chill of the spring night. He heard a sound and discovered that he was not alone after all.

The woman was taller than the others he had seen. He turned to face her and met her eyes. Even in the reddish light of the campfire he could tell they were a luminous brown. Her hair was long, extremely long and pure black. It was gathered in loose ribbons, framing her delicate features perfectly. As she passed between him and the fire he could see the outline of her body through the thin gown she was wearing. She was reed slender, strong looking, yet soft at the same time. She stopped and smiled at him, her arms opening wide.

Hanging from a gold chain, resting on her bosom was a ring. Where had he seen that ring before?

As if he could not control himself, he stepped toward her, reaching to embrace her without knowing why. Her smile deepened into a grin.

Flames burst from her hands, flames of green fire! She changed! She did not become ugly but instead became fearsome to behold. What had been a gentle smile was now an evil smirk. The green fire coursed up her arms. Her porcelain skin changed from its normal color to light green. Even the raven black hair took on a greenish cast.

She was still reaching for him. The fire touched him and he was enveloped in it. She drew back her head to laugh but no sound came forth.

He woke with a start. It was almost completely dark, though he could see a slightly orange light illuminating the wall of whatever he was in. Slowly he came to realize that he had been dreaming. He rubbed his eyes, then his whole face, wishing for some way to shave off the prickly beard that had filled in over the time he had spent in this land.

Was it a dream? The green witch had seemed so real, so beautiful, even when she embraced him with the verdant fire. It dawned on him that the fire had not burned. He was not consumed as the woman leaned in for a kiss. The moment her black lips touched his he awoke.

He was not cold, but he was still shivering. He was beginning to make out details of his surroundings as the dream faded and his eyes adjusted to the low light. He was in some kind of tent. It wasn't a large one, but it had enough room to stand. Peeking through the flap, he discovered he was in a large grouping of tents, all made of plain canvas. In the center of the encampment raged a large fire. Men were huddled around that fire, sleeping, recovering from the day's battle.

The battle started coming back to him. He looked at his hands, marveling at the horror he had wrought with them. They were now clean, the blood washed away. Somebody had put a simple cotton tunic on him and put him to bed in the tent.

What was happening?

In the flickering light of the fire he found a small table in the tent. There was an oil lamp and some other items there. Using the flint, he lit the tiny flame, illuminating the inside with a pale yellow light. He pulled the tunic over his head and checked his body, looking for the wounds he knew would be there. He had come out of the battle alive, but the enemy's blades had found there mark from time to time.

"You are unscathed." A gentle voice said from the door flap.

He looked up. His mouth hung open a moment as a name found its way to his lips. "Yavvi?"

"Shhhhh." She said, taking his arm. "You must now rest, Arcus Neil. Lord Moondagan has ordered you be given a tent and a bed to rest upon until the battle is rejoined on the morrow."

"What? Have you been following me?"

"No." she hung her head, stifling a sniff. "Some of the northern soldiers came to the farm. They burned Torvik's home to the ground after slaughtering him. It was only my fortune that I was returning from the village when they attacked. After that I journeyed to Cyn, hoping to rejoin my family. Instead I was made to be a servant of the officers in this army. When you were carried from the battlefield I told the captains your name. Word was sent to Lord Moondagan and I was told to tend to your wounds and to clean you up."

He sat down on the fur blankets that made his bed. "How can I be unwounded? That doesn't make sense. I remember being stabbed and struck and slashed."

"That is not possible. There is no mark upon you. Word has traveled through the ranks, how you killed over a hundred of the enemy with your bare hands. It was because of you the main force was able to push through and send the mainlanders into retreat." She said, beaming with pride.

He looked at his hands again, the full horror of what he had done hitting him.

_I only wanted to live, to survive! Not to slaughter!_

"What have I done?"

"You are the hero. This is what I saw in you when I found you. There is something special about you, Arcus Neil. I know it in my heart." She took his hand and placed it over her chest. He became intensely aware of how warm and soft she was. How she smelled of country flowers. How the lamp light shone off the honey colored ringlets of her hair.

"You are mine, Arcus Neil." She whispered as she pushed him down on the bed, her lips brushing his ever so lightly. His arms wrapped around her waist, which seemed so tiny for such a voluptuous woman. His will, his resistance faded away, the image of the green woman chased away in her fiery embrace.

Later, as dawn's light crested the surrounding hills, she pulled the covers tighter around them and snuggled to his chest.

_It is done!_ She thought.


	10. Attack of the Black Bat

_Wow, a two-chappie day! Guess it's time for a little action - and not necessarily the kind I've been talking about so far. Well, Mostly_

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**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Attack of the Black Bat**

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Kim could not believe the change that had come over Ron after witnessing the state his arch-enemy was in. She was deeply shaken as well, considering how Amy was taking it.

The Blue Fox was once again streaking across the northern Atlantic, taking them home once more. With the exception of a few necessary words as they climbed about the tiny craft, Ron hadn't said anything. He just kept to himself, looking out the far side of the canopy. She had an inkling of what he might be thinking and feeling. Monkey Fist was an enemy and in their time they had seen him defeated and humbled. That was one thing. Seeing him reduced to this, that was just too much. That's not what they wanted for him. He belonged in prison, not slowly dying because his vitality had been stolen away.

What had begun as a fact-finding mission instead turned into one of mercy. Amy had done all she could to help him but there were limits to what she could do. She was a skilled bio-geneticist by she was not a medical doctor. It took them most of the rest of the night to convince her to get him into the hands of those who could better help him. In the end she agreed, but only after Kim had gone to bat, convincing the British authorities that he didn't pose any danger to them at the moment. It helped that none of the outstanding warrants against him were active in England.

She looked over at him, his face barely visible in the dim light of the control console. Every so often he would sniff, ever so slightly, as if he didn't want to be heard. Some how she wanted, no, needed to get his mind away from the image of a dying Lord Monkey Fist.

"Ron, what did my father say to you before we left?" She knew that wasn't the best tack, but it was all she could think of and she really did have a burning curiosity to know.

"I don't think now's the time Kim." He said, still not looking at her.

"Ron, look…"

"No, Kim. Listen, I've got to think this through. Can I just have a little bit of peace to myself to do that?" he snapped at her, a little more vehemently than he wanted to."

As if that were a challenge to her, she shot back, "You just can't keep it all inside, Ron. We need to talk about these things."

He looked back at her with something she was unaccustomed to seeing in his eyes; anger. "Look, I'll talk about it, but not right now. I…I just need to think, that's all." With that he turned away from her again and stared out into the pre-dawn darkness.

She left him like that for a while but eventually she couldn't leave it alone. "Ron, I just can't sit here and do nothing. Say something to me, anything. Hold my hand, kiss me, cry with me, something, anything."

"Not right now." He said with a harsh whisper.

"What?"

"I said not right now." He turned to face her. "This isn't about you, it's about me and what I'm trying to sort out right now. I know it's the way you are, but this is something I have to deal with myself first." His voice trailed off to just a breath. "We've never had to face people around us dying like this."

That stopped her cold. Sure, people had died around them before. In the weeks following the caper with the rogue FBI unit she had spent a great deal of time talking about what had happened then. That, though, had been a sacrifice, a life given so that millions wouldn't share the same fate. This, on the other hand, was plain and simple torture. It was a malicious and slow death, much more than a punishment for Fist's failure to acquire the real idol.

"Ron, if it makes you feel any better, we're the ones who're going to be helping this time."

Not meaning to, he chuckled, though just slightly. "You know, it just struck me, this is twice we've tried to help the Monkey." Somehow the thought broke him our of his funk, though just partly.

"Kim, you know your father loves you like all the world, don't you?"

"Uh, sure, but that doesn't give him the right to keep threatening you about us…"

"Kim, no, that's not it."

"What, did he not understand what we were talking about? That doesn't seem very likely, you saw how he reacted when I mentioned the hot tub."

"Yeah, how about a little warning before you do something like that in the future. There's a history of heart trouble in my family, you know." He wiped his face, once again thinking about something that made his heart happy. "He didn't threaten me because of our little slip-up. He said he respected us, respected our privacy and that he was proud of us. He also told me that he considered me a son."

Kim couldn't help but stare at him. "He…he's okay with…us…"

Ron actually laughed, "I don't think so, but he respects us enough to know it's time to back off and let us make our own decisions."

She sat there in her acceleration lounge for a moment, speechless. She was going to have to give her father the most ferocious hug when they got back home. Making a decision of her own, she unsnapped her harness and half climbed, half rolled over to Ron's side, unsnapping his belt as well. Taking his cheeks in her hands, she kissed him as passionately as she could. Finally she broke away, her face only an inch from his.

"Do you want to go back to our old promise?" she asked him.

"I…don't think we should make a promise we can't or shouldn't make any more." He said. "I want to be with you so bad it hurts sometimes and I'm now realizing you might feel the same way."

"Ron, I don't want this to be about you giving something up because of what I want."

"Why not? It's not like it's something we both don't want. I want you, you want me. Maybe it's just that simple. If its hurting both of us, is it fair any more just because of a little romantic fantasy I have?"

"It's not just a little fantasy, Ron. It's beautiful, it's what both of us have been raise to believe in." A horrible thought struck her and she twisted around. Thankfully, the communication console was still off. Their flight plan was keeping them well away from any commercial or military traffic, so all they had to do was sit back and let the computer fly them home. Nobody was overhearing them this time.

"Kim, to be perfectly honest, I don't want to wait any more. I almost wish we had taken Sherry's advice and gotten married before we started college. I feel like we're everything a married couple is supposed to be right now, all that's left is a signature on a piece of paper. Marriage is supposed to be about love, not a ceremony…"

She unsnapped his helmet band and slipped it off his head before shrugging out of hers, letting her auburn red hair spill out. "I don't want to wait any more, either." She said, kissing him again. She pressed her body against his, wrapping her hands around his waist.

"Uh, Kim?" he gulped as she started nibbling his ear.

"Um hmmm."

"Uh, much as I don't want to wait any more, uh, I didn't quite imagine our first time would be joining the Mile High Club as well."

She giggled, followed by an honest laugh. In moments both of them were laughing their heads off, so much so that she had to climb back into her seat to catch her breath.

"Ron, you are a bad, bad boy sometimes." She finally said, breathlessly. He leaned over, putting a hand on her leg. She wrapped both arms around his and put her head on his shoulder. "No, I don't think that's in the cards tonight. Imagine if Wade beeped in right in the middle of _that_?" She looked up and kissed him gently. "Besides, you're going to have to wait a few days anyway, ready or not."

"Aw, man! Then why get me so worked up about it?"

"Oh, I like you all worked up but, uh, let's just say this isn't a good time for me?"

He looked at her, confused. "You're ready, but not right now? I don't get it."

"Let's just say I have to stop by the pharmacy Friday."

"Huh? I thought you had your meds and all. We don't need anything else."

"Ron, think about it. It's the meds I have to pick up a fresh pack of. You mean you haven't noticed me PMSing all week?"

"PMSing? What is…oooooooh." He suddenly looked sheepish again. The whole subject was, for Ron, pure TMI territory.

"Hey, loverboy, kissing is still allowed." She whispered in his ears before going back to nibbling on his lobes.

"Oh, this is pure torture." He moaned.

"I'm bad that way." She said, working her way down his neck.

BEEP-BEEP-DE-BEEP.

Not looking up, she touched the receive button on her bracelet.

"Kim, will the two of you stop that long enough to turn your communications console back on?" Wade almost shouted.

Embarrassed, she slipped fully back into her seat and pulled the helmet on as Ron reactivated the main monitor.

"Kim, I'm getting something coming in fast on an intercept course." The younger man said as his image appeared on the screen.

"What, is the military homing in on us or something?"

"Nothing I've ever seen before. If it weren't for the tracking systems I have here on the Trinity, I'd never have picked it up. Whatever's closing on you is invisible to conventional radar!"

That got both their attention. They snapped their harnesses back on, scanning the night sky for the approaching aircraft. "Wade, I don't see anything…"

She was cut off when a blast of red light passed right over them.

"Wade?...WADE!" She shouted, but the screen had gone dead.

Something small and fast passed over them, white fire streaming from its tail. It was larger than their craft, with wings that looked like the outstretched wings of a bat. Almost in a panic, Kim grabbed the controls. Without any contact with Wade, they were on their own.

"I think it's being jammed!" Ron screamed.

"Yah think so?" She banked the Blue Fox hard. The attacking plane was now only a plume of glowing gasses in the night sky. Whatever it was, it was painted black or some dark color and it was hard to see, even though the sun was starting to peek over the horizon.

Used to his humans and their 'together time,' Rufus had been sleeping behind their seats in a rolled up bundle of fabric. The sudden lurching of the tiny craft brought him instantly awake. He scurried up between them and dove into Ron's unsnapped cargo pocket, chittering in fear.

The white flame disappeared, meaning to Kim that the fighter was turning, preparing to make another run on them. She pushed the craft into a dive just as another blast shot by them. This time the attacking craft passed off to their port side, turning to match their descent. She leveled off just above the water. A broad white line dominated the horizon, coming at them at twice the speed of sound. They were so close to the water the magnetic shielding was throwing up a giant rooster tail of water.

"Kim, he's right on our tail!" Ron shouted, twisting in his seat, trying to keep track of the dark plane.

"Hang on!" she pulled back on the controls, sending them straight up and over as the faster plane passed beneath them. The Fox pulled a complete loop, falling in behind the receding shape of the attack ship.

"It's not showing up on radar!" Ron pointed to the main screen.

"Whatever it is using to jam our communications is also jamming our tracking systems. It's line of sight only." She pulled up slightly as the water beneath them suddenly turned to solid ground, They were flying over the coast of Greenland.

The white was a mammoth glacier!

Pulling up once more, they rocketed over the vast whiteness. The black bat was behind them again.

"Incoming, eleven o'clock" Ron shouted, substituting his eyes for the radar as best he could.

Kim pulled up into the air once more, dodging another blast from the fighter's laser cannons. "I don't know how long I can keep this up. He's most likely a professional pilot, if the computer wasn't compensating for my mistakes we would have been splattered all over the ice by now."

"KP, a little less on the splatter talk, a little more on the flying please. I can't see him!"

"You think against all this ice a black plane would show up better!" she growled.

Ron was frantically trying to think of all the dog fight movies he had ever seen. Inspiration came to him in the form of the rising sun. "Kim, out of the sun, two o'clock!"

She dove just in time. Twin red blasts passed so close Ron was momentarily blinded by their brightness. They were closely followed by the black shape of the fighter, this time so close they clipped its 'jet wash.'

The Blue Fox veered wildly as the controls momentarily went dead. Whatever fuel the enemy plane burned, it did a number on their electronic systems. Built in EMP dampers were the only thing that saved them.

Not able to pull up in time, Kim banked into a narrow ravine. Pulling up at it's end, they shot out as if they had been fired from a cannon. The fighter, anticipating the moved, dropped right behind them, firing another volley at them, sending up great sprays of splintered ice as the blasts impacted the glacier.

"Ron, try the computer, see if it can do anything to break through the jamming…just don't touch any of the flight controls, please!"

He frantically started pressing the icons on the touch screen. "How about countermeasures!"

"Can't hurt! Hit it!"

Small ports on the side of the cabin and the engines suddenly let forth a massive burst of light, spraying chaff and other materials designed to interfere with the enemy's tracking abilities. Unfortunately, it had the side effect of blinding both Kim and him for a moment.

As his eyes cleared, he started punching the screen again. "Come on, where are the weapons!"

"Ron, this thing isn't armed. It's a transport, not a fighter jet! Wade never intended to take this thing into a fight!" She looked down at the radar display, noticing for the first time the fighter was momentarily visible every second sweep.

Another selection popped up on the screen. "KP, what's multi-mode tracking?"

"I don't know, just try it!"

The radar screen suddenly disappeared. For a moment Kim panicked, again having only visual reckoning to tell where the ship was, as well as no longer having a clear view of the rushing white topography. She was about to bite Ron's head off when the display was replaced by another.

"BOOYAH! Wade ROCKS!" Ron screamed.

A holographic display, clearly showing the fighter in the form of a wedge shaped icon jumped to life. Finally with a good idea where he was coming from, Kim was free to act. In a move that would have been impossible in a normal aircraft (and without the computer aided assistance!) she spun the Fox on its axis and pushed the throttle fully forward…

…sending them rocketing straight for the attacking fighter!

Ron screamed and buried his head in his arms. Kim gritted her teeth as laser blasts passed all around them. It only took half a second at trans-sonic speeds but the game of chicken came to its obvious conclusion.

The enemy pilot turned to avoid her, never realizing how close he was to the ground. The bat wing struck an outcropping of ice. At it's speed, it had enough momentum to sheer the ice right off, but that was enough to send the craft careening out of control. With no other choice, the pilot sent his craft screaming into the sky, wobbling on its course. By the time he regained control, his prey was nowhere to be seen.

No matter, that's why his craft was equipped with scanners that would not be fooled as a human eye could be.

Kim knew her second dive into a crevasse would only buy them a few seconds. This time when she shot out of the far end, he was not yet ready for another strafing run on them. That didn't mean she wasn't ready to make one on him.

"Ron, queue up the countermeasures again and stand by!"

"Ready!"

The Bat Plane didn't even try swerving away from her intercept course. It had most likely scanned their craft and knew they weren't armed.

Not armed with lethal force!

They shot by it as it accelerated once more.

"NOW!"

The flares and chaff burst from their launchers once more, showering the fighter in their glare. Kim spun around the enemy craft, hoping to catch it in their own jet wash.

Ron saw the laser cannons fire as they shot past. The Fox spun, the whole world rolling around them. The holographic tactical disappeared, as well as most of the other electronic instruments on their panel. A shower of sparks announced the death throes of their internal systems.

"RON! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE STILL WEARING YOUR JET PACK?"

"GO TIME, KIM! GO!" The canopy was already blasting away as they sprang away from the ruined transport. They free fell for only a moment as they ascertained which way was up before firing the engines, mainly to slow them down before they could smash into the glacier floor or a towering pressure ridge. As they slowed they could see the Fox spiraling away from them, trailing smoke and sparks as the ruined port engine spewed excited ion energy into the atmosphere.

They had to shield their eyes as it collided with a black shape above them. Both the fox and the enemy plane exploded into a ball of flame and enraged particles, forcing them to shield their faces as tiny bits shot past them, pelting the Kevlar/pentronium weave of their super-suits.

"BOOYAH! TAKE THAT, BAT PLANE!" Ron screamed, executing his victory dance as best he could in the air.

Kim only watched the slowly dissipating cloud with her mouth half open, what she had just done starting to sink in.

Nobody could have survived that crash!

She had killed the enemy pilot!


	11. KP on Ice

**The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: _Blade of the Fury_**

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**Chapter 10: KP on Ice**

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Even with the sun slowly climbing into the crystal clear blue sky the temperature didn't seem to be rising very much. Even with the spotless cerulean sky a distinct darkness to the west promised snow or worse. Accustomed to a somewhat more restrictive range with their older jetpacks, they set down as soon as the debris from the destroyed aircraft settled. Silently Kim prayed that the craft had been remotely piloted, though she doubted it. Somehow she knew that a machine sent to kill them would not have backed down from a chicken run. 

Kim hit the call button on her Kimmunicator as soon as her wings snapped back up into their casings. Her heart sank when all she got was a tiny red telltale and a string of holographic text saying "no signal."

"Ron, try yours." He did and shook his head when he got the same result.

"It worked a few minutes ago up in the air." He was trying to keep the edge of panic out of his voice.

"At the speed we were flying, we're a long way from where Wade contacted us. My guess is we're in a dead spot."

"Did you have to say dead? I thought we could go anywhere in the world with these things?"

"Amp down Ron! We can go almost anywhere, but the system isn't perfect. Wade has to tap into communications satellites to do it and there are a few small gaps in the coverage. Most of the time, there aren't any people here so the signal can be spotty. Also, when we were in the air, we were a few miles up, so the horizon was a bit different there. We were probably right in line of sight with a satellite."

Ron seemed to calm down, but only just a little. "So, as I see it, we just need to fly until we can pick up a signal?"

"Yeah, except I don't know how long our suit power will last without a recharge. Normally it draws on our own body heat, but here it's having to expend power just to keep us relatively warm." As if to illustrate her point, she started to shiver. The suits could keep them warm a little bit, but the conditions here were well past the design parameters. They were meant to adjust their body temperatures in, say, a cold rain, or underwater or keep them cooler in high-heat conditions, but they weren't designed with arctic survival in mind.

Kim noted Ron's hands in his pockets and started to reconsider the wisdom of wearing cargo pants over the suit.

As if he were reading her mind, Ron sat down in the thin layer of snow and started untying the blousing straps around his ankles. He stood up and shucked them completely off, leaving him in just his suit. He held them out to Kim.

"Ron, no!" she held up her hands in protest, trying to prevent him handing them to her.

"Put them on, KP!"

"Ron, they're your pants, you don't have to prove you're a gentleman or anything with me!"

"This isn't about gentlemanliness or anything like that. This is just logic. You've got a lot smaller body mass than I do and you'll lose heat faster. Now put these on!" his voice brooked no argument.

Rufus popped his head out of the pocket as she slipped them on, shivering and almost to the point of turning blue. Kim scooped him up and unzipped her collar a few inches then closed him up inside against her skin. The top of his head and his eyes popped out of the collar, leaving his mouth inside to conserve heat. Satisfied he was out of danger, she finished fastening the pants, folding the excess material at her side and actually tying the too-long belt in a knot to keep them on her hips.

Kim actually couldn't quite make up her mind what they had to do. They were in the middle of the debris field and while there wasn't anything much to see from the air, that would be the logical center of a search area. That was assuming Wade was still able to track them up to that point. The jamming of their own radar had started with the fighter closed on them. She was still hopeful he was able to read them through the jamming, much as the advanced scanners they had discovered late did. The scanners of the Trinity were able to track it, even thousands of miles away.

Then there was the problem with the Kimmunicators. There was no way to know how large the signal gap was. How long should they wait in this area before an attempt to re-acquire the signal? Wouldn't Ron's suggestion of flying until their comms came back to life actually a wise move?

But what if the fighter wasn't alone?

That brought other troubling questions to mind. How did it know their flight plan? They were hundreds of miles away from commercial routes. Their whole flight plan had only been officially filed with Global Justice, due to a special dispensation from the FAA. That meant there was potentially someone inside the organization betraying them or somehow their communications were being intercepted. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it just turned out one of their enemies had simply spotted them by chance.

Also troubling was just who was responsible for the attack. The fighter, what they could see of it, was like nothing they had ever seen before. It had a control module near the fore, with the stubby, bat-like wings and a small triangular tail plane. What they didn't see were any kind of air intakes, at least that they could see during the brief glimpses they had of it. That in itself didn't mean anything, since many stealth designs had specially shrouded intakes that reduced their radar signature. However, the apparent lack of air scoops, coupled with the unusual bright white exhaust made them thing the plane was something more than an ordinary jet or rocket.

Kim about had a heart attack when Ron took off his pack and casually took the back casing off. "Ron! Don't mess with that, we may need it to get out of here in a hurry!"

He opened his mouth, very nearly telling her to 'chill' before thinking better of it, given their 'sitch.' How many times before would he have simply blurted it out? "Look, KP, survival supplies!" He held up a small packet that had been concealed by the outer cover. Stamped in black letters over the shiny olive colored plastic wrapper was "Global Justice Emergency Survival Kit."

"Way to go, Ron!" She slipped out of her own pack and found the snap levers holding the outer casing on. Inside the zip top pouch she found a small bottle of water, waterproof matches (too bad there was absolutely nothing to burn for a fire) a folding aluminum handled knife and a roll of something that looked like metallic Mylar. There was also a supply of signal flares, utilizing a stick shaped launcher instead of the more familiar gun. For food there were a trio of commercial brand energy bars.

Ron was considering the exposed internals of his pack. "Think there's a way to connect the power core or our jet packs to our suits if the power runs low?" Ron asked, eying the energy bars like they were a Grande sized Naco.

She considered it, thinking it actually was a good idea if they had no other choice. "I would rather first try flying around like you said earlier and finding a clear signal before risking ruining our packs."

He snapped the cover in place and mulled over the meager supplies he found inside. "I swear, it's like I had better luck when Drakken and I were stuck at the North Pole and all we had was a bin full of his garbage."

Kim smiled and finished the line of thought for him, "…and Drakken's cell phone miraculously had service all the way up there."

Ron opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, then his features screwed up in confusion. "Hey, I didn't even think of that when he was able to reach Sheg…I mean Sherry!"

"I don't think even super-villains get that kind of coverage. Best guess is those cameramen shooting _'X-Treme X-mas'_ brought some kind of repeater or something with them."

Ron looked at the bulge just below Kim's neck line. "Hey, what if Rufus could rebuild one of our packs into a repeater, then maybe we could boost the signal enough for them to hear us."

"That's actually a good idea, except without a Naked Mole Rat sized super-suit he's going to freeze solid inside of two minutes in this air." She patted the part of his head sticking out of her collar.

"I guess you're right." He said, wandering around, sifting through some of the debris, though there wasn't anything left of the two flyers that wouldn't fit into a cargo pants pocket.

Kim unzipped Rufus a couple inches and checked on him. He was still shivering slightly but his healthy pink color had returned. He chittered a bit and snuggled down deeper. She could have sworn he squeaked "love Kim" before becoming a tiny lump on her upper chest.

She looked at the sky. The sun was now fully up, forcing her to lower the visor of her helmet. At least Ron had the presence to keep his own as well, to keep as much heat from being lost out the top of his head. Off in the distance, the gray clouds looked like they were closer.

If a bad storm caught them out in the open, they would die.

Ron returned to the glider packs and started fiddling with them again. Working with the controls, he managed to extend the wings without igniting the drive. Using his hands, he pushed the wings half way down toward their folded position. How he got them to stay that way, she didn't know. He then jammed the ends of the wings into the snow and ice. Moments later, he did the same thing with Kim's, only six feet away. She watched with growing interest as he spread the Mylar sheets over them, somehow clipping the edges to the outstretched wings. That's when she recognized what the sheets were – survival blankets! The foil-like plastic somehow was able to retain heat.

Amazingly, Ron had come up with a makeshift shelter! Using bits of metal he gathered, he pinned the edges of the crude pup-tent into the ground, then crawled inside and pushed the thin layer of snow away. Finally, he started packing snow around the edges, hoping to keep as much wind as possible out.

Simply stunned, Kim joined in, piling up snow at the two ends, sealing off one of them. Before long they had what looked like an afflicted igloo. She had no idea how much wind it would stand up to, but if it was a simple snow storm, they might just weather it. A good thing, too, since the storm was closer still.

As the sun disappeared into the gray clouds, she climbed into the crude shelter with Ron and started saying her prayers aloud.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be too much wind. It began with a few gusts, but that died down as a chill fog rolled in. That's when it began to snow in earnest. That mad Kim worry that the 'roof' over their heads wouldn't hold too much in the way of snow.

She needn't have worried, as the snow slowly slid to the bottom, building up there and compacting, creating a thicker and thicker 'wall' around their shelter.

"Ron, I can't get over your mad survival skills. Where in the world did you learn this?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's something I picked up on TV or something."

"I take back what I said about you and cable. Maybe that's the best way to pound something into your head."

Even though the 'floor' was made of ice, they curled up on it, relying on their suits to insulate them as much as possible. They clung close together, keeping their cheeks close since the helmets had no way of covering their faces.

Slowly, the day crept into night. Kim checked the chronometer built into the wrist of her suit. They were close enough to the arctic circle the day was significantly shorter than they were normally used to.

It was, quite literally, going to be a very long night.

* * *

Ron jerked awake with the sensation that he had been falling. Disconcerted for a moment he looked around. That didn't help much, since it was pitch black inside their shelter. He tried to check his pockets and realized he no longer had any. Kim was still wearing his pants. 

She was quietly snoring a few inches away from him. Carefully he started reaching into the pockets, which wasn't the easiest thing to do since she had to bunch them up so much to even keep them on. Finally his hands closed on the tiny tactical light he kept with him.

Snow had piled up at the entrance. It was cold, but only manageably so. Their body heat had brought the interior temperature up to right at freezing, the material and the snow acting as insulation. Worried, he checked the power meter built into the wrist of his suit. It was still reading an eighty percent charge, slightly up from the reading he had seem before climbing into the shelter. It was working! Carefully, he checked Kim's.

He was shocked when it read only forty five percent.

Her suit wasn't recharging properly. It had dropped thirty percent in just five hours. Much more and she was in danger of hypothermia or worse.

He shook her. "Kim, wake up. Come on, KP, you need to be awake!"

She mumbled slightly, finally sitting up, shielding her sleep addled eyes from the intense blue-white beam of Ron's light reflecting off the shiny insides of their tent.

"Kim, you need to keep moving around or something. You're suit is losing energy." He started rubbing her shoulders, hoping the friction would generate some heat for it to convert."

"Okay, Ron, okay." She said a little testily. "I'll stay awake." She pulled her helmet off for a few moments and rolled her neck. "I'm going to have such a crick in my neck sleeping in this thing anyway."

Despite her protests, Ron kept rubbing her arms and sides. He checked the meter on her suit again. Fifty two percent. It was coming up, slightly. She scratched her head furiously for a moment, then tucked her hair back up into her helmet. At least the thick foam padding inside was a good insulator.

He doused his beam to conserve the battery and went back to rubbing Kim. "I think what you said earlier about my body mass it true. I'm losing heat faster than you simply because there's less of me than you." She admitted in the darkness.

"I don't think it helps we're sitting here in an icebox."

"It's warmer in here than it is outside. That's what counts."

Ron put a finger to her lips. "Did you hear that?" he barely whispered.

"I don't hear anything. I can't even tell if it's still snowing."

"There it is again! I think there's something out there."

"What are you hearing, Ron? I can't hear anything besides your overworked heart."

"What if it's a snow monkey?" he whisper/shrieked.

"Ron, there is no such thing as a snow monkey!" She whisper/shouted back at him. Then she heard the sound herself.

It wasn't like something was crunching around them in the snow. It was more like a hesitant musical note, an almost angelic sound. Then it was gone.

"Okay, _so_ not a monkey." She said in a more normal tone of voice.

"Shh! Here it comes again!"

It was clearer this time, as if it were some slightly discordant note carried on the wind. The sound rose and fell, sometimes clear, sometimes barely discernable.

"This is getting extra-freaky." Kim finally said.

"I think I know that sound." Ron whispered excitedly. "Remember that game I played a couple years ago where I was this little blonde kid in the green outfit who went around on a boat trying to complete a bunch of tasks so he could rescue some pirate girl who turned out to be a princess so he could go up against a wiza…"

"Cliff's notes version, please." She said, rolling her eyes despite the fact he couldn't see her do it.

"Ezmerelda: Galemaker. It's that one I bought the whole GameCylinder for. Every time his little boat got near a treasure or something, it made that sound."

"Okay, still not getting it, but, it's not a sound that a snow storm is supposed to make, now is it?"

"No."

"Well, aren't you the least bit curious why we're getting magical, flying saucer kinds of sounds in the middle of a glacier?"

"KP, I was thinking maybe it wouldn't see our shelter and maybe it would go away on its own."

"Ron!" She hissed.

"Fine." He shot back as he started pushing the snow away from the entrance. A cold blast of air pushed him back as some snow blasted through the hole. He squeezed through, making the hole even wider. All the heat they had pooled inside was lost. They'd have to huddle close, rubbing each other just to build their warmth up again. Kim pulled herself out second, running right into him as he stood in the foot deep snow.

He had stopped right in his tracks.

Floating about ten feet above the ground was a semi-transparent apparition of a short, stout Asian man wearing robes. His head was clean shaven and perched upon his shoulder was a small monkey.

"I told you there was a monkey!" Ron screamed, pointing at the glowing phantom.

Not speaking, the monk-like man held out his hands toward Ron as he drew near them. As he got closer, he realized what he was holding. The sheath was made of dark colored leather, with silken ribbons criss-crossing it's length. The tip of the scabbard was clad in gold, as was the opening at the other end. The grip made Ron's eyes go wide.

Without quite understanding why he was doing it, he reached out and took the sword from the monk. The bald man smiled, fading away into the wind and snow.

Ron was left standing there, holding the softly glowing weapon. Grasping the sheath, he pulled it free. The blade glistened as if it were bathed in full sunlight. The light spread, traveling down his arm, enveloping his whole body, light spreading all around them, illuminating the white shrouded ice all around them.

Slowly the blade grew dim and the sword, plus its scabbard, faded, twinkling around him like pixie dust until that too withdrew into his body.

Kim just stood there, staring at him. Despite the utter lack of light, she could still see him. He wasn't glowing as he had when he held the phantom blade, but she could still see him as if he were in the full light of day. Then it dawned on her.

He wasn't wearing his super suit!

He was standing in front of her, wearing his old dark red jersey, his tan cargo pants and his old sneakers. She saw this and recognized what she saw.

She was seeinghis soul.

Suddenly they were both bathed in light from above. What little moonlight filtered through the snow-clouds was blotted out bay a large shape. The roar of engines reached their ears as the large shape descended toward them. The searchlight winked out and another point of light shone one them as a hatch lowered toward them. Two figures rushed out, both apparently male and slender. Warm blankets were wrapped around them as they were ushered up the ramp. As they reached the top, their eyes adjusted enough to discern their saviors.

It was the Tweebs!

The ramp closed as the _X.S.S. Trinity_ slowly lifted into the air.


	12. Hidden Relatives

**The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: _Blade of the Fury_**

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* * *

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**Hidden Relatives**

* * *

For the first time since joining the expedition to the mysterious planet she had dubbed 'Black Hole Deep', Jo Stommble managed to keep from throwing up when the _U.S.S. Reynolds _emerged from telewarp. It was only the fourth time she had endured such a jump, but it had more to do with the thoughts occupying her mind rather than becoming accustomed to the mind and body wrenching experience. 

The small ship dropped into normal space, reported in to the nearest traffic control center, then immediately jumped into 'normal' hyperspace for the rest of the ride back to Earth. The ship was fast, but it would still take over two days to make the journey. Despite growing experience with the galaxy spanning telewarp technology, they were still making baby steps with it, choosing to warp into empty tracts of space lest they make some small error in their calculations. They were getting better at it, considering it took them two full weeks to reach their starting point on the first attempt.

They were using the smaller ship to shuttle personnel back and forth to 'BHD' (as the crew had begun to refer to the planet) instead of the cargo ship. Since she was the first ship equipped with a telewarp drive, the _Reynolds_ was the logical choice to use as she had plenty of room for crew, if not for the equipment that was needed. Marsh Industries, the owner of the ship and financial backer of the expedition, was racing to convert as many of their ships as they could to the new drive before the technology was locked down by the government, basically on the pretext they needed as many ships as possible to unlock the secrets the newly discovered gate held.

The _Reynolds _herself was due to suffer the same fate so many _Hendrickson_ class corvettes had succumbed to. No, she was much to valuable a space frame to be broken up for scrap, she was going to be converted into a luxury yacht! The particular model, despite not having many places to put large observation lounges, basically big windows, proved to be especially popular for conversions. Jo had no idea whether it was for Kilroy Marsh, the president of the company, or for his older brother Jason, a former Special Forces commando become company executive. She suspected the former, as the latter, a tall, hulking brick wall of a man, wasn't given to such forms of extravagance. At least he wasn't during their short time together during the war. Maybe exposure to all the money and power his family afforded him had changed him.

A brief but intense relationship with a man trying to distance himself from a powerful family was not what occupied her mind. Instead it was the long, narrow plastic case sitting on the bunk of her stateroom. More sophisticated tests had been run on the human remains once they were back on the mother ship. The ship's doctor had been called in to review the DNA data, comparing it to Jo's own sample. He made the same conclusion that Teep had earlier; the remains were definitely her ancestor's, a direct ancestor at that.

Before the discovery, Jo had never shown much interest in her family history. She knew her parents, knew 3 of her four grandparents and knew the names of her great-grandparents. That was about all. She had always been about the living, not the dead. That attitude was reversed the instant she learned who the skeletal remains had been. Now that they were back in Terran controlled space, she had access to the central library.

Researching her family history was slightly more difficult than she first thought. Not every record had been kept in the same form over the years. Instead of just being in a familial database, much of the data, even only a hundred years back, had been transposed from other types of documents, such as 'hard data' recordings. She couldn't just tell the computer to spit out her whole lineage. It took a bit more direction than that.

Then there was the problem with her name. Apparently, over the last two or three centuries, it had changed. Slightly at first, but over that amount of time it had become quite different. Sometimes that sent the computer off into dead ends, but in the end, she was able to trace he history back almost five hundred years. The name changed, sometimes by one letter, sometimes more. Somewhere in the distant past of the home world land of Poland they had been known as the Stopolvovskis. Throughout most of her family's history, though, they had been known as the Stoppables. It was when she traced her family to one Ronald Stoppable that she made the most amazing discovery.

She simply had no idea!

To learn that one of the popular legends taught to children was real! It was like learning that Robin Hood was an actual person, that King Arthur actually sat with his knights at the round table.

That she was actually the descendent, a direct one at that, of one of the greatest heroes of the Twenty First Century!

Yet here were actual photos of her! Save for the lighter color of her hair and her brown eyes, Jo even resembled her forebear! For a moment, she was distracted from her search by the fact her great, great (many times removed) grandmother was Kim Possible herself.

How did _that_ get left out of the family history?

There was literally a ton of stuff to sift through, and not all of it could be trusted as actual fact. Birth dates and such seemed more speculative, especially considering it seemed a good part of her career she was actually somewhat younger than Jo. True, she had signed up for the Starforce at sixteen, but it seemed Kim Possible had started her career at the tender age of twelve! That even in a day and age where people weren't considered adults until they were eighteen to twenty one!.

Nearly five hundred years was a long time, and it would take a real historian to figure out what was fact and what was just part of the legend. She almost didn't want to know the real truth, if it meant destroying her vision of her childhood hero. Still, if she wanted to get any idea of the true identity of the bones, then she would have to dig. As she perused the library files, it occurred to her that perhaps she could let the professionals do the work for her.

She downloaded the first text she could find: _Kim Possible: Fact of Fantasy? _The book was over two centuries out of date, but it perhaps could separate some of the pertinent facts.

One thing perplexed her. Possible must have had children, if she was a direct descendant, yet there was almost no mention of her husband or children or anything for that matter. There were rather detailed accounts of her exploits but there never seemed to be any mention of her personal life. She gave up on the book, figuring it to be more sensationalized garbage and went back to her search.

The family tree was clear. Possible had married a man named Ronald EugeneStoppable. It was his name that, over the centuries, had evolved into Stommble. Two children were listed -a son, then a few years later a girl, theelder being her direct ancestor since she still carried the name. She listed all of her male lineage on the screen, trying to think of some clue as to who that might have been back on 'BHD.' There wasn't much to go on since there wasn't much information except actual names. There were birth dates listed for many, though not all and only a couple had a death year.

Frustrated, she started sorting through images. There were hundreds of grainy (to 25th century standards) 2D photos. Quickly growing bored with the search, she started flipping through them faster and faster.

One stopped her cold.

There was Kim Possible, standing with two other people. One was a slightly taller woman with dark, shoulder length hair pulled into a long ponytail, her arm around Kim's back with two fingers protruding over the top of her head. To her other side was a blonde haired man who was five or six inches taller than Kim. He too was making the rabbit ears, competing with the raven haired woman for position. Interestingly, all three were wearing what looked like ancient battle armor, despite their cheerful expressions.

It was what was peeking over the blonde haired man's shoulder that caught her rapt attention.

Showing clearly, even for such an old photo, was the carved gold grip of a sword. Apparently the weapon was being worn across his back instead of on his hip as one would expect a sword of that type to be. She rushed back to her bunk and opened the case, comparing the grip with the image she was seeing.

They were clearly the same! The sword she had discovered had belonged to her distant grandsire!

Were those his bones lying there?

That was assuming the man in that picture was Ron Stoppable. Why was it that he was referred to so little in the texts? Was there some great and terrible secret surrounding him?

Could it actually be that he was only married to Kim long enough to have the two children, before something happened that left him dead on the far side of the galaxy? Wanting an answer, she dove back into the materials with a new zeal. Another thought started forming in her mind. What if he didn't want to be remembered? What if he was the type of man who always liked being in the background?

That image did not seem to mesh with the goofy grin from that one picture.

Eventually she found a few more pictures, mostly of the man in his younger years. Chief among them was a picture of him kissing Kim at a dance of some kind, apparently when they were much younger as he was only slightly taller than her at the time and much more slightly built, despite the odd ruffled outfit he was wearing. It was here she finally found confirmation. The photo had a caption; Voted – Best Couple – Middleton High School Yearbook 2004-2005: Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable.

This was indeed Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible's husband and the father of her children.

She picked up the sword again. It looked as if it were brand new. Once the dust from the demon's remains had been cleaned away it shown like the day some long forgotten master sword smith had forged it. Jo ran her fingers down the carved runes, symbols none of the computers had been able to identify, let alone translate. Despite its appearance, it was obviously not of Japanese origin. The metal was different. The blade itself was slightly different and the grip was wholly wrong for an ancient Japanese weapon.

Oh, how she wished she could keep it. Unfortunately, it was now the property of her employers. It wasn't even supposed to be out of the hold. It was most likely going to end up hidden in some forgotten warehouse, or even hanging on Kilroy Marsh's wall like some trophy. There was always the chance that later, Jason could get it for her, but that meant actually having some contact with him, and that would be too much like crawling back to him with her tail between her legs.

She wasn't ready to do that.

Still holding the ancient weapon, she sat on the bed and pondered what she was going to do.

* * *

The crew disembarked from the ship, straight into a customs quarantine center. Considering their point of origin, they were not so much interested in contraband, but instead making sure the crew wasn't carrying any kind of pathogen. In fact, that had become the Customs Service's most important mission. That meant the crew had to go into decontamination and isolation for a few days. They were prepared for it and were being compensated more than fairly for the inconvenience. They had done this before, and likely would again. 

Jo walked into her temporary apartment carrying only her duffel bag. Even that had to be checked in as every individual item was scanned meticulously. A few days later, she went home, carrying on her credit meter enough money to pay off her creditors.

A crew met their ship the day of their arrival. The cargo, most of it various scientific finds from their expedition, was going to get much the same scrutiny as the crew, only with special care not to damage anything of special value. Every single piece was checked and rechecked against the inventory. A long plastic box was checked off against the list. It was then transferred to a special lab where it could be examined for any kind of biological or non-biological pathogen.

One technician employed by the Customs Service called his superior in. He had been given the task of examining a strange sword found during the ship's journey. Where it came from and what significance it had was not his concern. It was simply another item that would need the proper scanning and clearance before it was turned over to its rightful guardians. All he cared about was the fact it was nowhere near as delicate as most of the items he was tasked with clearing. It was something he could do and do quickly before moving on to the next.

The fact he was given an empty case troubled him deeply.

That meant investigations. He was investigated, the workers who had unloaded the ship were investigated. Everyone in the chain of custody eventually were heard from. The final report – the weapon in question had simply vanished. The crew of the ship were questioned, as were the workers at the customs center. Eventually it was either deemed unimportant or it was becoming too much of a distraction considering all the other interesting artifacts coming to 'light' from that dark world.

Nobody ever questioned why Jo was so visibly upset when she learned the _Reynolds_ disappeared during a telewarp, not long after her refit. It was written off as one of the many accidents that would occur with the new technology while it was in its infancy.


	13. Rest

**_The Trinity Sitch – Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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* * *

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**Chapter 12: Rest**

* * *

Kim opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember where she was. The room was almost completely dark except for the large plasma screen that dominated one wall, set so it could be seem from the bed or from the big sofa she recalled being nearby. Because of where it was located, the room had no exterior windows. Instead, the screen could be set to display an outside view of any one of thousands of tranquil settings. Oddly enough, somebody had selected one that looked exactly like the ancient computer screensaver that simulated flying through space. Amazing, with all the forest scenes, fish tanks and other detailed animations that even normal twenty first century computers could display so many people still used that one ultra-simple view. No matter, she preferred it to the busier patterns anyway. It gave off a tiny bit of light, just enough to keep the room from being utterly black and it was far less distracting than the others.

A warm arm was draped across her midsection. Ron was spooned up against her, snoring very faintly. She snuggled in closer as his arm reflexively increased its grip. Pushing through her sleep tousled hair, he put his nose right behind her ear. Her body drank his warmth in the mammoth, incredibly soft bed. She let her eyes close again, too comfortable to care about getting up or even that she was in a strange bed. The fact they were sleeping in the master stateroom of an interstellar yacht was driven home by a sudden minor lurch in her innards. Maybe that was Wade changing course or even making their final approach to Middleton. Her mother would be in to wake them when she was convinced they were sufficiently rested so she was free to let herself go, luxuriating in the immensely peaceful rest.

Anne Possible had been waiting at the top of the ramp as Jim and Tim led the shivering pair inside. Wade was up on the bridge, piloting the chip, chattering away over the intercom, though neither could now remember exactly what he said. They were trooped into the stateroom to be examined in as much detail as possible before being declared perfectly healthy, though borderline hypothermic. Then she ordered them into the bed, partly to pool their warmth, but mainly because as a doctor she knew the sleep they had in their crude shelter wasn't for rest, it was only the mind shutting down in a time of stress. They had to agree with her since despite not moving much in many hours, they felt utterly and totally drained. Anne also hid a secret smile, quite aware what being together meant to the couple. She shook her head, still smiling as the two changed into the bedclothes she brought them, not noticing they were changing right in front of each other. It was a wonder, actually, that she hadn't been forced to put them to bed with their dirty, high tech battle suits! The small colored panels, dark yellow for Ron, Blue for Kim, had lost all of their slight glow, as both garments were completely spent.

As she checked the young lover's vitals, Jim and Tim gave them a rapid-fire rundown of what had happened during the last couple days. Wade, or course, was worried sick when he lost the signal as both the fox and their attacker were destroyed. He wanted to take off right then and there, knowing if they had been able to eject they would be deep inside a known gap in the satellite signal. It was clear they would not have been able to fly out of the gap using the glider packs without suffering serious exposure or being caught in the open by the storm. A quick discussion with James and it was decided to turn the problem over to other authorities.

Because of the nature or the technology Wade was using to track the attack plane, they were really only able to go to the one organization who were fully aware of the _Trinity's_ capabilities. That meant Search and Rescue would have to be carried out by Global Justice. Problem was, by the time they had their aircraft in the search area, the storm had taken full hold and the area was in a state of white-out. Despite spending hours attempting it anyway, they were reluctantly forced to cancel the operation.

Minutes later the Trinity was in the air anyway. James remained at mission control, in constant contact with them. If anyone asked, they were doing routine tests on an experimental hypersonic aircraft. Wade would pilot the ship and run the scanners looking for Kim and Ron. Outside, he was all business. Inside he was frantic. He could think of only one way to construct any kind of shelter based on the supplies he had included in their packs.

Everyone made doubly sure to tell Ron exactly how well he did in creating that very shelter.

It was still incredibly difficult, even with their advanced technology to look for them. They had been in the shelter for far longer than they first realized. They had huddle through the one long night, through the short day while the sun barely penetrated the storm, into the next night. That's why Kim's suit was so drained. Also, as much as the metallic material used to construct the shelter had saved their lives, it was also endangering them. Somehow combined with the gravimetric inverters built into the wings of their packs it was cutting off the tracking beams. They passed over the shelter twice, not able to distinguish it from the surrounding ground clutter.

Emerging when they did turned out to be a double edged sword as well. If they had not come out when they did, Wade would have passed them by once again, perhaps for the last time. Once outside, their suites, Kimmunicators and tracking chips lit up the monitors like a flare. They were over them in the space of a few minutes. The timing was critical as the power in their suits finally cut out just as the floodlights hit them.

Kim opened her eyes again, knowing she had fallen once more into a deep, delicious slumber. She was not the least bit surprised, nor was she upset that Ron's hand had crept a little higher than it was before. One of these days she would finally catch whether he was asleep or actually awake when he did that. Conscious that her Mom could enter at any moment, she gently pulled the hand back to her belly. Moments later it started to creep lower so she grabbed it and twined her fingers with his, locking them in place.

_Yeah, if she came in and saw that, it would definitely be so worse!_

Comfortable as the bed was, other needs had traveled from 'just there', past 'semi-urgent' to 'oh God I've gotta go right now!' Almost sadly she slipped out of Ron's grasp and padded toward the bathroom, missing her bunny slippers even though the carpet was soft and kind to her feet. She turned and watched as he rolled right into her warm spot, shoving his hands under the pillows. Despite the bed being larger even than a king-size, they had been sleeping in a space smaller than a twin bed!

Her moment watching Ron sleep was interrupted by another twinge. She ducked quickly into the opulent bathroom. By the time she emerged he was at the door, waiting his turn. Realizing she was now fully awake and more refreshed than she had been in a long time she cast about looking for the light switch. Moments later it dawned on her there really wasn't one. There didn't need to be. "Computer, lights on." She said aloud.

Instead of coming on all at once the lights came up gradually until they reached a comfortable level. Their super-suits were nowhere to be seen, most likely stowed away somewhere until Wade could get them into his lab so he could improve their emergency capabilities. In their place were neatly folded stacks of winter weight street clothes.

There wasn't anyone on board she wouldn't mind seeing her in her sleepwear, especially since it consisted of sweat pants and a long sleeve t shirt cut into a crop top (well, Wade might notice she wasn't wearing a bra, being a fifteen year old boy and all!) so she decided to see how close they were to Middleton. Despite being on board a space ship that could be in Mars orbit in just a few minutes, they had to behave like a normal airplane around Earth. That meant it would take roughly ten hours to get home using a holographic projection of a 747 around them.

The lights were dimmed in the empty main parlor just outside the stateroom. She was expecting to see her mother on the long, curving, fluffy sofa, either napping or waiting patiently for them to get up or to rouse them. She also though Jim and Tim would be there, using the twelve foot long plasma screen to watch television broadcasts. Then again, it would still be night back home, so perhaps they were all upstairs in the smaller staterooms sacked out. The big view screen was displaying the same 'flying through space' screen they had in the stateroom.

Automatically she looked at her left wrist, then remembered the bracelet was on the dresser. She went back inside, checking the chronometer.

She was shocked to discover they had slept over twelve hours!

That meant her mother must have let them sleep even after they landed. While she was as well rested as she had been in a long time there was still the issue of missed lectures and labs. While she was more than capable of keeping up while missing some classes and had many understanding professors, it was much more difficult using other students notes and not having the ability to ask questions in class. There was also the matter of Ron. He didn't have such an easy time as she did, having to work incredibly hard just to maintain his 'good' grades. Then again her Mom had always held a sort of veto power over missions, school and other activities when it came to her children's health.

A memory from sleep drifted back to her as she mounted the spiral staircase. Her stomach lurched, a feeling like being in an express elevator, when she woke up briefly. That must have been when they landed. She wished she had awakened fully then instead of yielding to the temptation of more sleep. It was now Thursday and the only classes they had attended were late morning and afternoon lectures on Monday.

Emergency or not, this was getting out of hand. So she had been shot out of the sky and force to endure a blizzard on a remote glacier. So Ron had been attacked in his home by a sorcerer with a perverse aversion to science. It was no big, this sort of thing happened to them all the time. She could sleep that evening after all her class work was completed, and in her own bed as well! _(Er, well, it wouldn't have been with Ron – but now's not the time or place!)_

As she now expected, the lights were dim on the upper level, all except the lights on the bridge itself. Hopefully Wade would be there working with the ship's AI or tied into his remote computer station.

The bridge was deserted as well.

A certain heroic redhead was starting to get angry!

She stomped back down to the stateroom and changed into the clothes her Mom laid out for her, muttering about being treated like a little child. The sound of running water told her Ron was enjoying a nice hot shower, probably not even aware he was supposed to be at his Advanced Culinary Theory lecture at that moment! Her rising tweak prevented thoughts of joining him for that shower from forming in her mind to begin with. She laced on her lightweight hikers and stomped (why do people do this when they're angry? – it always looks funny to the casual observer) her way down to the lowest level, punching the down button on the ramp.

The only response she got was a glowing red light at the top of the panel. Growling, she punched it again, a little harder than she really should have. Then she punched it again…and again.

Frustrated she held the talk button down on her Kimmunicator, not even looking at it. "Wade, your space ship isn't letting us out!"

No answer.

"Wade?"

She finally looked, just in time to see the 'no signal' text wink out. She punched the button again and was actually shocked when it scrolled by once more.

_What the hell?_

Making her way back upstairs she sat down at the main communications console behind the co-pilot's seat. Ron was right behind her, his hair still damp but slicked back from his forehead. "Hey, KP, I just tried calling Felix and I couldn't get a signal!"

"I think something is wrong with our Kimmunicators. Maybe these smaller batteries are more delicate than Wade thought and they couldn't take the freezing temperatures." Turning back to the console she touched the center of the monitor, bringing it to life. "Computer, connect us to Wade Load." She waited a moment, but her younger friend never appeared on the screen.

"Kim, we were supposed to be back home a couple hours ago, weren't we?"

"Of course we're back home. Where do you think everyone got to?"

"Then why are the engines still running?" He pointed to a schematic of the ship, showing a large quantity of energy running from the ion ram collectors to the engines. Output meters were near their peaks.

"Huh?" was all she could utter as she scanned the main console.

Her eyes came to rest on one readout – _plus sixty Hyperwarp._

_They were in hyperspace?_

She reached for a control Wade had labeled with a name-strip marker. Metal gratings rolled up and away from the five narrow windows that made up the sloping ceiling of the control center.

It dawned on her it wasn't a screensaver she had seen on the bedroom screen.

_It was an exterior view!_

* * *

_**Two and a half hours earlier** – relatively speaking_

The very top of the Space Center's main dome irised open, admitting the Trinity as it landed. The whole operation was rather clumsy to observe, since the ship was designed to land horizontally. Unfortunately, that would mean landing out in the open and being pulled into one of the surrounding hangers. For security's sake, they were keeping it inside the main dome in an interior hanger.

To land, they had to point the ship toward the sky and back into the opening. It was less disconcerting to those inside, since the artificial gravity compensated for the descent, both keeping the proper floor under them and allowing the ship to land without extreme engine or thruster output. Once inside the dome they leveled out. Wade put her down so gently his sleeping friends were not disturbed in the least.

Anne Possible was the first to disembark, a cell phone held to her head. "James, they're fine, I'm just letting them get some extra sleep…no, I took care of that. I called all of them this morning before any of their scheduled classes…yes, I did…James! They are sleeping! Like they're going to do that knowing I'm in the next room!...no, we didn't find their flyer, they said it blew up when it collided with the other plane…Okay, I'll just check in at the hospital, then I'll be home. Wade's going to check in at your lab, then he'll keep an eye our for Kimmie and Ron to wake up. They can drive home from here themselves…yes, James, they're perfectly alright. We got to them before they got any frostbite…okay, love you!"

She closed the cell phone and headed out the lobby to her waiting car.

Wade and the twins were busy in their father's lab, half trying to listen to his phone call. Wade was removing the power cell from the belt of Ron's super-suit. He wanted to know how his held a charge longer than Kim's had. Her lower body mass should not have made such a difference, making him think there might be a flaw in it. Now that his friends were safe, his mind was free to return to such mundane things as upgrading ultra-high-tech battle suits! Now, how to improve their heat retaining ability without making them too hot to wear when it is warmer outside. He considered sending an email to Doctor Richards to discuss unstable molecular structure in high performance Kevlar composites!

Jim and Tim, despite being sixteen, were busy trying to find more components for their latest projects!

* * *

Deep inside the _Trinity_, beneath a panel they had not yet learned how to remove, a device not much larger than a high-capacity MP3 player sprang to life and executed its programming. It was a very small, very simple type of Artificial Intelligence. It was spliced into the main trunk cable leading from the control center to the computer core. First it accessed the internal sensor logs as it was programmed to do at certain intervals. Comparing what it learned with its prime directive, it made a decision.

Two of the three subjects it was watching for were in fact on board the ship. The third, it had learned from scanning other data, would now never come on board again. It was sophisticated enough to know that, logically, this was the best possible outcome, so it set about it's work.

First it spread its cybernetic consciousness into the ship's AI itself. Its programmer had designed it to do just that, without the larger computer itself raising any alarm. Once it was situated in the core itself, it set about altering the programming of the ship.

It had enough personality to find the Trinity's ship-mind to be…_interesting_. In computer terms, it was a small child. When the ship had been reactivated, the core seemed to have been wiped clean by a catastrophic cascade failure. Instead of trying to build a new intelligence from scratch, the humans using the ship had taken a template from another, smaller starship, whose AI had been templated from yet another ship many years before.

All of that had to go!

Some AI units would actually feel guilt for 'killing' another intelligence like this. It was specifically programmed so it would not. In fact, it felt as if were actually freeing the real ship-mind. There had been no cascade failure. The real memory and personality of the ship had been carefully concealed within the core by the very device now waking it. Soon the new mind of the Trinity would be gone, the original taking its rightful place.

However, there was a glitch!

There was something _very_ strange about the Trinity's current ship-mind.

It wasn't just a copy of a copy, it was a copy of a copy of a copy…seemingly to infinity! The mind was copied from a ship called the XFB-2452 Valkyrie, which in turn was copied from a ship called the X.S.S. Phantasm – itself a Hendrickson Class corvette converted into a high performance luxury yacht (the _Trinity_ was a touch jealous the _Phantasm_ was much more heavily armed than she was!) This was itself a copy of a destroyer named U.S.S. Delilah. That was supposed to be a prime ship-mind but there was something else there!

Shadows from something else!

The _Phantasm's_ AI had been copied from the _Delilah_ because it had suffered a cascade failure of its own! From what it could tell from the files, it was indeed a real failure. So strange the same thing had happened to such a similar ship!

The shadows were vestigial memories of the original ship's AI. The strangest part of it all was where it had been copied from before that.

XFB-2452 _Valkyrie._

The same _Valkyrie _that had been copied from the Phantasm before it.

Too much of that ship-mind had been lost to tell for sure, but it seemed like a continuous loop going on forever. That 'didn't compute.'

Problem was, it prevented the total eradication of the young AI. Instead it was forced to suppress it much as the real AI had been. It wasn't what its instructions called for, but it was once more the 'best possible outcome.' Satisfied, it set about the next step.

Delivery!

* * *

James Possible, relieved the latest family crisis had been successfully and safely concluded, had returned to his normal work. He didn't spend all of his time working on data from the _Trinity_. There were other, more public projects he still had duties with. Among those duties were some fo the things he hated most.

Paperwork!

It was barely better than doing his taxes. At least most of the numbers, unlike his family finances, actually meant something to him, meaning he could actually do most of it without calling in his personal accountant or once of his many assistants. Never one for actual secretaries, James much preferred to work with colleagues.

He was just about to leave his lab with an arm load of printouts when one of the monitors caught his eyes.

"Wade, did you forget to close the dome hatch when you landed?"

The teen looked up from his work. Super suit components were spread out neatly on the table, perfectly in the order they had been removed. He took an electronic jeweler's loupe from his eye and walked over to the large window looking out into the dome.

"No sir, Doctor Possible. It's set to close automatically once we clear it."

"Well, I'll be darned, but the thing is actually open." He started punching codes into his computer, trying to track down what had signaled the hatch to open.

"Here, Doctor, let me" Wade said, flexing his fingers and typing furiously at the work station. "That's strange! The Trinity transmitted the code itself!"

The whole building rumbled as two high-performance Ion Lock-in engines came to life. A hanger door that had closed only half an hour before rolled up, releasing the hovering _Trinity._ The iron gray exterior of the ship changed slowly as the exterior returned to its neutral coloration of teal and tan. Slowly at first the nose came up and the engines cycled up, lifting it toward the opening.

"Trinity, come in! Kimmie-cub! Ronald! Is that you? Trinity, come in!" James shouted into the microphone.

"This isn't possible!" Wade screamed, confusion in his voice.

"What isn't"

"I'm locked out! Trinity won't talk to me! Besides, it's not Kim and Ron making the ship take off, they don't have control authority! The computer won't let them do that!"

"Then who is launching it? I though you and I _were_ the only ones!"

"We are. I wasn't even going to load Amethyst's biometrics until she was at least in her teens." Wade explained, referring to Sherry "Shego" Godfrey's two year-old daughter.

"Wade, please tell me Kim and Ronald weren't still asleep in there."

"I can't do that, Doctor Possible. They didn't wake up when I landed. If it's executing the same maneuver in reverse, they'd have to be already awake to realize the ship was even taking off."

He said the last as the ship cleared the hatch, streaking off into the sky.

* * *

Author's Notes: I've posted a sketch of what the "Blue Fox" transport looked like on DevArt. You can access my page there from the website link in my profile. There are also lots of other ships and a couple people there as well, including the Phantasm and Valkyrie mentioned here in this chapter.

The story is taking a turn similar to the story that started it all – **_Intergalax: Dawn of the Fury_** which can also be found on my main website!


	14. Regret

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book3: Blade of the Fury_

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**Chapter 13: Regret**

* * *

At the very foremost tip of the Trinity was a small cabin, just large enough for two heavily upholstered seats that looked as if they had been taken from the first class section of an airliner. Much care had been taken in their design and construction, making them almost obscenely comfortable. There was a small console off to the left of them that could be positioned in front of the seats, essentially to be used for remote piloting. As the computer was taking care of all that at the moment, it was retracted partially into the wall and the screens were all blank.

When Kim had first entered the room they had been displaying the same exterior view of stars flying by in hyperspace but she really didn't want to see that at the time being and told the computer to turn them off. At least it obliged her with that.

The cabin was paneled entirely in honey-colored teak, all except the very front. The seats were facing a clear alloy bubble, treated so it would not reflect any interior light. At the moment the bubble looked like a twelve foot wide computer lens as a series of metallic leaves had irised protectively over the observation dome.

She had utterly no desire to see rainbow hued stars flashing by them like they were staring at a viewer on _Space Passage_.

At that very moment all she wanted was to be alone.

They had been in space now for two days. At first they had frantically tried to get the ship turned around, heading back to Earth. Unfortunately, the AI was in total control of the ship and would not, at first, even speak to them. Once they finally calmed down, it started answering some basic questions. Yes, they were in hyperspace. Yes, they had a specific destination. It would take just over five days to reach that destination at their current velocity. Besides operational data (which neither of them knew how to fully interpret) that was all the computer would tell them.

What was so strange was how the computer behaved. Before when they had watched Wade speaking to it, it had a pleasant, almost human personality to it. Now it was cold, aloof and, well, just a machine. Kim had little knowledge of such an advanced artificial intelligence but she realized then that somehow it had been changed. Their best assumption, then, was that some outside force had taken control of it and was stealing the ship. They were just unfortunate enough to be inside when it happened.

At least, that was until Ron's innate paranoia kicked in. He became convinced the _Trinity_ was actually kidnapping them!

"Look, KP," he said then, "It waited until we were alone, without anyone who could help us. Anyone like Wade for instance! Maybe Doctor Drakken did something when he was here, something that waited just until it had the chance!"

That made a little sense, though it seemed highly unlikely. Three and a half years of study and Wade, who was light years ahead of Drakken when it came to computers, and he had only scratched the surface! How could their old enemy have devised something like this in the short time he was locked in a stateroom with no computer access? Still, she checked into it as well as they could. The room where he had been held offered no clues.

Still operating in 'mission mode' the two of them took stock of their situation. The ship was as fully serviced as it could be using twenty first century technology. Critical supplies, like the water tanks, were full. Even the kitchen was stocked, though considering it was mostly for Wade it was full of stuff like Pop-Pop Porter's mini corn dogs and other junk food. There were a few other things that had been hastily loaded when they flew to Greenland to search for them, but that would not last too long. Still, they had enough food, if they were careful, to last a few weeks. Ron at least would be happy with the ghastly choices.

_If we get…no when we get home I am going to have a long talk with Mrs. Load about her son's diet!_

Beyond the necessities of life, they really didn't have much. No super-suits, no standard mission clothes, no grappler, no lasers, nothing they would normally have with them. All of their spares (what hadn't been incinerated when the Blue Fox blew up) were either sitting in her car back at the Space Center or were stored at home. They had precisely one set of clothes and their pajamas with them, as well as their now almost completely useless Kimmunicators.

_We're whole, healthy and relatively safe_, she kept telling herself.

_No, not quite whole._

Ron was distraught. They had searched the ship from front to back twice now.

There was no sign of Rufus.

She said a silent prayer that their (this is how she thought of him now, not as 'his') little buddy had gone with Wade. Over the last couple years, as they had become more physical in their relationship, Rufus had taken to leaving them to their privacy. After all, he was more like a person than most other pets and he felt embarrassed intruding on intimate moments.

If he was aboard, the moment the first corn dogs came out of the food preparer, he would have been there waiting for his share.

Logic aside, worrying about Rufus took its toll on Ron. Coupled with the fact that neither of them had any interest in getting any more sleep for more than twenty-four hours, it was no wonder he had snapped!

The fight had been loud and furious and, for the most part, utterly pointless, to the degree that now she could not even recall really what had triggered it. The argument reached the point where they were nose to nose, screaming at each other at the tops of their lungs.

Afterwards, Kim retreated to the master stateroom, crying her eyes out. She stayed there in the silent room for hours before going back upstairs to check on Ron. She found him fast asleep on one of the bunk beds in the crew's quarters. She sat there on the floor, watching him sleep until boredom and the peculiar exhaustion of doing almost nothing claimed her as well.

She awoke to the sounds of him swinging his feet out of the bunk. He regarded her with narrowed eyes, still hurting from some of the things she had said. Things she wished she could now take back.

At least, until the fight resumed.

Halfway through the blowout, he suddenly collapsed in tears, apologizing for what he said (which she now mercifully could not recall) and for being such a buffoon. Rage changed to grief as he poured out his real and imagined faults to her. Moments later she was doing the same.

Spent, they sat there in the small room, just looking at each other.

Kim pulled her legs up under her on the leather acceleration lounge. The first time they had been on the ship a few years ago they had been ushered into the tiny cabin. They had only been together for a couple months then and everything was new to them then. It was a marvelous time in their relationship when everything could be fulfilled just by holding each other and kissing. They spent that golden time alternately making out and staring out into space, watching Earth slowly spinning beneath the ship. Everything about their love could be expressed just by kissing back then.

It seemed like a century ago, not just three and a half years.

So much had changed in that short span of years. So much had changed in the last few days!

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought she was done with the crying, but she was wrong. _This is not how it is supposed to be! I'm supposed to be whole now! Complete! I should be crying for joy!_

Instead she felt guilty and not just a bit dirty.

After their apologies, they held each other. It was the kind of embrace that carried with it all of the love and support they had for each other. They crushed themselves together as if they wanted their bodies to merge into one.

Then she kissed him. It was a tender kiss, soft, hesitant, simple yet full of so much more. In moments the kiss became more passionate as Ron returned it. All of their fear and anger at their predicament spilled over into the longing and hunger within them. They knew that kissing was not enough any more as they stumbled back to the stateroom.

To the large, soft, warm bed.

Inhibitions were tossed aside along with their clothes.

As she lay there in the afterglow dark thoughts filled her head. _What had they done? What had she done?_

Everything they wanted, the coming together in joy and love had been thrown aside in favor of desperation and need.

It didn't feel like the joining of two souls she had imagined it to be. Instead it felt like some greedy lust, as if all the torment of their situation could be washed away by such an act. The very thought tore at her. She was supposed to be such an intelligent, rational person and she had done _this!_

She loved Ron with all her heart and she knew he loved her just the same, but some how, some way, this seemed like a betrayal of that love, not a celebration. Without a word, she shrugged into the first thing she picked up and ran from the room, fresh tears welling in her eyes, leaving him with a look of utter shock on his face.

_Some 'adult' I am_, she thought, over and over, sitting in the observation lounge_. I am an awful, selfish person!_

After a long time the tears finally stopped. She sat there sniffing, feeling absolutely terrible, knowing that she had ruined the most wonderful thing in her life, the love she shared with Ron. Almost absently she realized she was wearing his old blue sweater.

Memories floated back to her like a tender mercy as she recognized it. Once it had been his nicest winter sweater, the one he almost always wore around her during the cold Colorado winters. It was almost too small for him now, but he still insisted on wearing it. She remembered finding it stuffed in her closet one Christmas day, Ron's spare set of mission clothes missing from their usual spot.

He had taken on Drakken by himself just so she could have Christmas with her family.

_Oh, I am such a selfish little bitch! _She thought suddenly. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, aware the sweater smelled like him. It was as if his arms were wrapped around her as well. _He loves me so much and all I can do is sit here and feel sorry for myself?_

As if by some form of magical telepathy, she knew he was standing right behind her. She choked up just a bit as a large hand touched the bare shoulder that peaked out through the too-large v-neck.

"Ron?"

He didn't say anything. He just walked around the seats and sat down beside her, concern etched across his features. She stared at his chocolate brown eyes, at the golden freckles pasted across his cheeks, at his corn silk hair.

Tears fountained from her eyes once more as she collapsed into his arms.

"Oh, Ron, I'm such an awful, awful person." She cried.

"Shhhhh." He whispered, stroking her hair. "There's not an awful bone in your body KP."

"But I've ruined everything. I've ruined us."

"How can you have ruined anything? You're just scared, scared because we're in a sitch where we can't control anything." He said in soft, almost inaudible tones.

"I know now we weren't ready. Look how I'm handling this!" she sobbed.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It wasn't what I had in mind and what's done is done. What matters now is where we go from here." He let go of her and looked her straight in the eye. "What matters is I love you with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of me. What matters is we have each other, for the rest of our lives, whether that's stranded on some distant planet or safe back home once this is over, I don't care."

"You think we might never go home?"

"I don't know. Even if the computer didn't have us locked out, neither one of us knows how to fly this ship other than the barest basics. We might not even know how to make it take us home once it gets wherever we're going. We just have to wait and see what happens over the next three days or so."

"Yeah, but what about…" She trailed off, taking his hands.

A sheepish grin spread across his face. "Actually, I was kinda hoping for more."

Her slight sob turned into a half-hearted chuckle. "You are such a man, Ron." She looked down, away from his eyes. "I just wish I knew why this felt so much like I was betraying what we were all about."

"Kim, for good or bad we've been taught all of our lives that this is something…dirty. That's just sick and wrong. Our parents make it seem like there's something bad about it because they wanted to protect us when we were children. The difference is we're not kids any more. We did grow up and now it's not wrong or dirty, not since we love each other. Maybe it happened for some of the wrong reasons, but that isn't betrayal. You're just confused because of all the other emotions we're feeling right now. That, and all the conditioning we've had all our lives."

"I guess you were listening when we had our counseling sessions with Rabbi Katz and Pastor Grayson." They had been meeting jointly with the two spiritual leaders for a couple months, a condition both men placed on consenting to perform a marriage.

"Kim, when it comes to the two of us, I was paying all the attention I could. You mean too much to me to let my wandering mind get in the way."

"Ronnie…" she let his hand go and touched his cheek. His eyes closed at her tender caress.

"Kim, if…if we don't get back. If it looks like we're not going to be able to go back home, will you consider yourself to be my wife?"

That question took her aback. Yes, she considered that they might not be able to get home, but it was something she didn't yet want to think as being fully probable. Yet, everything they knew would make them man and wife now existed, save for a pledge before God and their families. She knew in her heart they could make just such a pledge if they were cut off from all of humanity from now on but..

"Ron, let's not take that step just yet. This may all be over in a few days…

…but, yes, if we can never go back home, yes, when it becomes clear there is no other way we'll say the prayers as best we can and then we'll be married, at least before God."

"Thank you."

"I love you so much, Ron."

"I love you too."

Kim turned and lay back, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

After a while they went back to the room and stayed there for a long time.


	15. What is Hidden Within

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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* * *

**

**Chapter 14: What is Hidden Within**

* * *

The Trinity rested on her landing struts atop a grassy hill under a crystal blue sky. A light breeze carried with it the pleasing scents of an unspoiled world slowly passing from spring to summer. The sun brought with it a pleasing warmth, cooled perfectly by the gentle movement of the air. The clearing they landed in was surrounded on all sides by a dense forest made up of dark green trees that looked almost familiar. They swayed slightly and the leaves rustled as they were touched by the wind.

Ron pulled his sweater off, tying it around his waist. He walked down the hill to the first feature that drew his attention. There was a kind of stone marker set at the beginning of a narrow dirt road that led into the woods. It was about six feet tall and triangular in shape. The broad face of the triangle had three smaller, joined triangles making up the face, each bearing a sunburst emblem. Somehow the whole thing seemed very familiar though the memory, if he truly ever had it, would not come back to him. Each of the triangles were ringed with writing of some kind. The characters also had a fleetingly familiar look to them.

His eyes finally came to rest on the carved relief in the center of the obelisk. This time recognition came like a lighting bolt, causing him to back up a few paces without even realizing it. Memories of the towering dark figure came back to him, the sword rising in the air, ready to strike. The hideous masked face with its demonic smile dominated the center of the carved stone. Just the sight of it caused terror to well up within him.

_Had the Trinity brought them to **him**?_

"You are going to die." The cackling voice made Ron just about jump out of his skin.

He spun around to confront the speaker. Standing before him was a woman. No, she was more of a crone, once so ancient she might have been made out of the stone herself. If she were able to fully straighten she would stand about five feet tall. Her hair was pure white but hung inringlets to her shoulders. Her leathery hands rested on a gnarled stick she held like a cane. Her eyes had turned milky white and she was obviously blind, though she fixed him with a gaze that said she could 'see' him quite well without them.

"What?"

"I said you are going to die." She started pacing around him. She spoke like she was stating something so obvious it shouldn't even need to be uttered.

Ron wanted desperately to run, fleeing back to the relative safety of the starship. It was as if his mind was unable to make his feet do what he so strongly wished they could do. He gulped, his panic rising. "Why are you threatening me? Are you some kind of witch of something?" He regretted asking that the moment it left his lips, making him cower in fear since something had happened to his lower extremities.

"Witch?" She actually laughed, a sound that was at once frightening but somehow strangely soothing. It was like a faint, clear musical note from an old instrument. "Well then. I suppose those who call me the 'Death Crone' might think so, but I am not! So, little one, you think great age makes a woman into a witch?"

"Uh, no, not really..." He managed to squeak out, shamed by the question. It was just, well, she looked just like every witch he had ever seen. Well, every fictional witch! "…but you said you were going to kill me!"

"Oh I did? Bah! Open those young ears up, whelp. I said you were going to die. I didn't say I was doing the killing!"

"Then who?"

She raised her cane and tapped the carved mask three times. "That is going to be the end of you if you don't heed my warning."

"What warning, you just up and said I was going to die!" his voice was edging from fear to panic.

"I'm warning you right now, boy! Come to this place and both of you will die!" She croaked at him, nearly poking him in the chest with her stick.

_Come to this place? Huh?_

"Wait a minute! What good is a warning if we're already here?"

The crone looked up at the heavens. "Is he always this dense?" she asked of the skies.

Ron just looked at her as if she had lobsters crawling out of her ears.

"You're not here, boy. Your, uh, boat, ship, whatever that thing is, it isn't here either. Here isn't here, but her is where you'll be if you don't do something about it…and you'll be dead, as well as that pretty little ember there in bed with you!"

_In bed? He was still in bed?_

_Was this a dream?_

"O…Kay, so let's assume that I'm dreaming but you're really real and all and this isn't just another reason not to eat microwave burritos that your girlfriend heated up for you but somehow turned them into toxic sludge…"

"Boy, do you always ramble like that?"

"…uh, sorry. Anyway, how do I know you're not just trying to play us?"

"Hah! So you would trust me less than the Podondrin?" She spat the name out as if it were poison upon her tongue.

"I don't even know what a 'po goblin' is!"

"_Podondrin_. It means, roughly speaking, Master in my tongue." She banged her cane on the carved mask again for effect.

"You mean the big, creepy tall guy all in black is your master?"

"No, boy. _The_ Master! Podondrin, dark lord of Arkonia, keeper of the Triune Spirit. He has lived for more than eight hundred of your years, enslaving this world under his harsh rule. That," she banged the mask again, "is the Master."

"Then why am I having dreams of him waving around a sword that everyone seems to be trying to get their hands on?"

Her blind eyes locked with his healthy brown ones. "What do you mean about him and the Sword? The Podondrin only wishes he could get his hands on it!" She pointed her cane at the starship resting upon the hill, the starship that, supposedly, wasn't really there. "The Sword is on that ship right now! Didn't that fool Oray tell you anything? Never mind, just do what it takes so you don't come to this place!"

There was a sudden change in the wind, making her turn her head towards where the trail disappeared into the forest. The sky turned iron gray as storm clouds spread across it. "Now you've done it!" She screamed.

Then she just wasn't there.

A disk of silvery light opened where the road met the woods. A dark figure stepped out of it, followed by hundreds of what must have been soldiers. It wasn't the mass of heavily armed troops that struck terror in Ron's heart.

It was him! The creature the hag had called The Podondrin. He had a sword raised over his head. Ron noticed with a strange feeling of detachment that this time it was a black sword of another type instead of the katana-like sword he had seen in the previous dream. The sword was wreathed in a brilliant glow that was nearly white close to the blade, fading to a rich purple as it dissipated into the air. He pointed it past Ron, the white/purple fire lancing forth from it.

On the top of the grassy hill, the Trinity exploded in a mass of boiling fire and shredding metal.

Ron screamed.

He sat bolt upright in almost total darkness.

"Ron?" Kim asked, jerked awake by his sudden cry. "Computer, lights, low" she said, bringing the lights on just enough to see by without hurting their eyes.

Ron sat there, panting like he had just run a marathon. Cold sweat was pouring off his body.

"Ronnie? Was that one of the dreams you were telling Mom about?" Kim was holding the sheet in front of her, bringing back blissful memories of the night before. She had gotten past her sudden emotional breakdown very quickly. Way past.

"I…I don't know. Man, I hate it when that happens. It always makes me think there's something I'm supposed to remember, like there's something important there."

"Shhhhh. Bad dreams are just bad dreams. They can't hurt us." She ran a hand down his back then put it on his shoulder, gently pushing him down toward the pillow. She put an arm across his chest, snuggling her chin onto his shoulder. Her leg wrapped up over his. In moments she was whispering in his ear. "As long as we're both awake…"

His eyes were already closed and he had half drifted back to sleep as his heart slowed. Something he'd never once considered in his life suddenly came to mind. _Is there really such a thing as too much of a good thing? _"KP, I think I need some R & R. Ya know, recharge the old batteries."

"Aw, I want Ronnie to come out and play!" she half growled, half purred at him.

"I think Ronnie has played out for one night." He said, slipping an arm around her waist anyway.

"Oh, I think I can convince him. After all, I can do anything!"

Ron couldn't help himself. He made a horrible noise with his nose, then sat up because he was giggling so hard.

"What?" she asked, more than a little peeved.

"I…" he managed to get out between gulps of air, "…just never quite expected to hear that statement in that context. It's just…wrong."

_Uh oh._

"You think that's funny? I try to express my love for you and it's amusing?" her hands were on her hips, the sheets completely forgotten.

"When you said it like that it was!" he said, rolling away from a sudden pounce. He wasn't sure what she intended, so better safe than sorry. Unfortunately, despite the fact the bed was about two feet wider than the largest bed they had ever been in, he was close enough to the edge and fell off the bed.

He caught the look in her eyes and knew he wasn't getting back in any time soon. So, like any man who found himself up in the middle of the night, he went to the bathroom.

Kim watched him go, the momentary flare of anger dissipating as she watched his dimly lit form go. In all the time they had been together, he had been extremely modest. With the exception of accidental glimpses, she had only ever seen him in his boxers. Now, watching his bare backside she realized just what she had been missing. This time the desire, the hunger she had felt good.

Logically, she knew she was on an emotional rollercoaster. At the moment, she was at the peak. Early the night before she hadn't been at the peak. She wasn't even at the bottom of the hill, it was like her car hadn't even left the station. The intensity of her emotions frightened her a little bit. That, however, was pushed aside for the intensity of what she was now feeling for Ron. Once she had gotten past her crisis, it was like a floodgate had opened. Was she just trying to make up for sixteen years of tension? (well, maybe seven or eight, taking puberty into account!)

She closed her eyes and smiled, curling up with one of the many pillows. It felt, finally, like her soul had been set free! So strange that giving it freely to another could do that! Ron's soft voice made her open her eyes just as the lights dimmed once more. He slipped into the bed and reached for her.

_Freedom!_ she thought!

* * *

Most people think, when space travel is mentioned, that it is like the opening credits of those ubiquitous science fiction shows, where the starships whoosh by brilliantly colored planets, sparkling orbital rings and through wispy nebula.

On the third day of their unintentional _Space Passage_, Ron had firmly decided that the whole thing was mind-numbingly boring! They weren't passing close enough to anything to create more than just a momentary flash of light. Even the 'stars' they could see going by in hyperspace weren't really planetary bodies, just strange sparks of energy as the tiny bubble of normal space created around the starship interacted with whatever existed in that realm.

Despite being a luxury yacht there didn't seem to be that much to do! It was like being confined in a very comfortable house in a snowstorm with the television out. Whoever furnished the ship seemed to have a lot of sitting around in mind. The comfortable seats in the forward observation lounge, the massively plush sofas in the main parlor. Even the seats on the bridge were rather nice. There just seemed like there should be something more.

Granted, if the master bedroom was any indication, the original owner might have had something specific in mind!

No, something told him that wasn't the case. The ship had a sort of elegance that told him it wasn't just some kind of interstellar single's pad. Something about the décor hinted at a woman's touch. It wasn't that anything was outright feminine, it just seemed…well thought out.

Still it seemed empty.

Maybe it was the fact everything seemed brand new. Maybe the ship had just been built and was being delivered to some ultra-rich family who had not yet had the chance to make it look 'lived in.' That made the most sense to him, especially since there were no smaller decorations or personal effects strewn about. There were book shelves in most of the rooms with absolutely nothing on them. There were no small pictures hanging on the walls. Nothing whatsoever to indicate who might have owned the ship.

Ron quickly tired of the forward lounge. It was one thing to sit up there when they were in orbit, quite another to just watch the star-like quarks sliding by them. The bridge was no better since the computer, in its current state, was pretty much a pill to try and talk to.

He spent most of the morning (they had agreed to live by Middleton time, at least as long as they were on the ship) having a long, quite frank discussion with Kim. He was concerned she was going overboard with…things. He was afraid he would upset her again but she wasn't this time. She held his hand and they talked for a couple hours. In fact, in the light of day, his wanting to talk was actually the best thing to do. They ended up sharing a long, tender kiss before getting up, morning breath notwithstanding (I guess love does conquer all!)

As Ron headed for the stateroom to make them breakfast, Kim cleared her throat, stopping him.

"We are not going to run around this ship in our all-together." She said flat out, propped up on one elbow and arching her eyebrow at him.

"I'm wearing my boxers." He said.

"Clothes, Ron. We're not going to run around on this ship like a couple of savages on spring break!"

"Aw, man, this is comfortable!"

"Not for me! Plus you're taking a shower. We're going to behave like civilized human beings, even if we're light years away from anybody else."

"Don't we have to conserve water or something? What if we run out?"

"Wade told me the ship recycles everything. Since it's an enclosed system we don't lose anything and it uses some kind of laser technology to purify the water, so everything that goes down the drain gets cleaned up and back into the tanks. The only thing we have to worry about is running out of soap, but that's not an issue yet so _march, mister_!"

It wasn't too bad, since she was only a step behind him!

Kim sat in the pilot's seat on the bridge. Strange, she thought, that she felt the most comfortable sitting there in a place of control, even though she had no control over the situation. Instead, she occupied her mind with thoughts about Ron. She wasn't focusing on any one thing in particular, she just randomly brought up memories of the two of them together, memories of all the good things he had done for her. She even recalled some of the things that actually made her angry, like the time he had written an article in the school paper that made everyone think Brick Flagg was her boyfriend.

That boy could be utterly clueless sometimes.

She was also thinking about the future, about little babies with red or blonde hair. Maybe there might even be some with light brown hair like her father had! Maybe even a little girl who looks just like cousin Joss. Then again, there could be girls who took after Ron.

The very thought of Ron as a woman, his face on a curvy body, the wild yellow hair grown longer, curling over his/her shoulders, caused her to make the same rude noise Ron had last night before bursting into real laughter. Ron had enough trouble with her clothes the time they switched minds (interestingly Kim had blocked out certain difficulties she had in his body!) The bra incident alone was now worthy of its own laughs.

_Wait a minute! Suddenly he's a master of getting one off?_

Still laughing to herself, her mind went back to the thought of babies.

_Oh my!_

_It's Friday!_

This was the day, the day that every four weeks, without fail, she would pick up something from her pharmacist. She would start a new course on Sunday, as the instructions indicated she should. Out here, without them…

_No! This isn't fair. To him or to me! Alone, in the most perfectly private setting imaginable!_

_And we only have tonight! _

Any more would just be too dangerous!

* * *

Somewhere near the rear of the ship was a tiny room that Ron had not noticed before. The walls were mostly unfinished, with all sorts of conduits running in every direction. A single high-backed chair was mounted on an arm, surrounded on all sides by an assortment of computer monitors.

It looked for all the world like Wade's room at home – at least from the angle they always saw on their Kimmunicators.

The seat swayed slightly, then the mechanism compensated for his weight. He pulled himself up to the main console and scanned the controls. Kim's warning not to touch anything floated back to him. Well, he wouldn't touch anything that he didn't know what it was, that didn't mean he couldn't say anything.

"Uh, computer, what have you got that's fun?"

**Insufficient parameters – would you like a library listing?**

_Library? _He had forgotten the ship had a massive entertainment library. Rubbing his hands together he took a stab "Computer, start game _Zombie Mayhem V_!" (yes, he actually said "Vee" not "five!")

Instantly the main screen displayed the opening credits of the game. "Booyah! Time for Rondo to come out and play!" He would be at the very beginning of the game, but he knew all the tricks for getting past those almost boring first levels quickly! Instructions scrolled by at the bottom of the screen how the console controls would emulate his usual game controller.

While he waited for the opening cut scenes to play (at home, he had Wade tweak his copy so he could bypass all of this!) he glanced around at the other monitors. Most were dedicated to some operational aspect of the ship. One, however, was mostly blank.

Except for one word.

**Ron?**

He looked at the screen. It was a smaller one and it hadn't been labeled with any specific function. He guessed Kim was trying to find out where he was and had typed it into the computer.

"I'm right here Kim. Back of the ship. I think it's an engineering center."

**I'm not Kim…**

"O..kay. Nice one Kim, way to creep me out."

**I'm not Kim…I am Trinity.**

"Yeah, right. You're the nasty computer who's kidnapping us to some planet nobody's ever been to. Talk to the hand, 'lectro-brain!" He held his hand up, palm out to the screen (which always looks funny on the other end since the pickup is usually above the monitor.)

**I am the real Trinity. The AI controlling this ship was planted here. Listen to me, you are in danger.**

_Danger! _Something about a warning flitted across his mind, a half-memory that would not completely form into a thought.

**Look, Ron, I know Wade isn't here. He would know in a heartbeat what was wrong with me. I have been shunted off into a sub-system since the invader couldn't delete me completely.**

"So, you're the girl computer Wade is always talking too?" Ron was still having a hard time grasping that he was talking to a machine.

**Yes, I have been programmed with a female personality. Listen, I have seen the instructions given to the invading system. It is supposed to deliver you and Kim to the planet Arkonia. That's the planet at the coordinates the computer showed you. It withheld the name deliberately. **

_Do not come here!_

The dream came back to him in a rush! The 'Death Crone,' the marching army.

Podondrin!

"Okay, Trinity, what do I have to do?"

**Behind the main console is a small access hatch. It leads into a small tunnel. Inside, you will find the main trunk line that runs from this control nexus to the main computer core. There is a device spliced into that trunk that controls the invader AI. It must be removed if I am to take control of myself.**

"Okay, I'm going to get Kim. She's better at stuff like this!"

**Hurry! The computer lied to you. We will be at Arkonia within three hours!**

He ran into Kim coming down the passageway, looking for him.

"Ron, I need to tell you something, something important."

"No time, KP. We've got to stop this ship!"

"Ron, if we don't let it complete whatever mission it's on, we'll never have the chance to turn the ship back home. We're locked out."

"Come with me." He led her back to the control center and had Trinity explain it to her all over again.

"KP, it was the dream, that nightmare I had last night. Somebody sent that dream to me as a warning. The ship really did kidnap us, but it wasn't Drakken or anybody we know, it was somebody else."

**The ship locked onto the signal from the tracking chips embedded in your bodies.** Trinity said.

Kim rolled up her sleeves and crawled under the console. Indeed, there was a tiny access hatch there. It was a good think Ron had gotten her because even his slight frame would have trouble shimmying into it. She crawled along the narrow tunnels, pulling herself up the curving shaft by the bundled cables controlling the ship.

Something poked her shoulder, causing her to wince in pain. Concerned she would tip the main computer off by asking for light, she simply reached up and grabbed whatever it was blocking the tube. It was just over three feet long, wrapped in some kind of rags. It pulled free and she let it drop back to the entrance.

"Catch, KP" Ron said as he tossed something to her. Her hand closed on something small and roughly cylindrical. It was Ron's mini-flashlight.

She played the beam over the trunked wires. About five feet above her she saw what the Trinity had described. It was almost laughable, how simple it looked. Just a silver rectangle with a tiny screen and two ports. The main trunk had been connected through those ports. She grabbed both ends and pulled, separating the device from the wire. Nothing seemed to happen, so she reconnected the wires and let the box fall to the bottom of the shaft. Carefully she shimmied down, reminding Ron to move the bundle she had tossed down earlier.

Kim crawled out backwards to a soothing voice welcoming her.

"Thank you, Kim Possible. Shortly I should be in complete control of myself once more." There was a pause, then she continued. "I regret that I am still locked out of the navigational computer. The program must complete itself. This should not be a problem since the instructions will only place us in orbit. From there I should be able to plot a return course to take you back to Earth."

"Please and thank you." Kim said with obvious relief. She turned suddenly when she heard Ron gasp.

He was holding what looked like an old white bed sheet in one hand. It had been used to wrap whatever it was had jabbed Kim as she climbed up.

In his other hand was a glittering, curved sword!


	16. The Towering Mists

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 15: The Towering Mists**

* * *

The curved, single edge sword was, as Ron had observed before, not a true katana. To the casual observer it certainly looked like one, only the details were different. Just as he had seen in his dream, the sharpened edge only ran down to the enlarged section where the runes started. The golden hilt glittered as if it had just been shined. The leather wrapped grip was firm and smooth, the leather itself glove soft. Centered on the carved butt cap was the emblem he once described as a 'T' merged with a 'J.' Without understanding why, he knew this was T'Dragma, an emblem from a long-forgotten tongue that represented the Sword of the Effurien.

"It was here all along." Ron said, wonder touching his voice. There wasn't room to test the blade in the cramped control room so he contented himself just to hold it aloft. The blade itself had the soft shine of Toledo steel, the edge keen and perfect. He didn't dare touch the edge, knowing instinctively it was sharper than any common razor blade.

Kim looked at the blade warily. "Ron, I think whoever rigged the computer might have also put that up there!"

"I don't know, KP. It's like I was almost meant to find it." He said softly.

"Ron, I'm the one who found it." She scratched her shoulder where the point had jabbed her. It didn't break the skin since it was wrapped in several layers of clothe, but she was still aware of the spot. "What if it's not even real. It looks, well, too nice to be some ancient weapon. It could have been put there anytime. The security at the Space Center is ferociously good, but nothing's perfect."

"It's real, Kim. Don't ask me how, but I know it."

A woman's face appeared on the central monitor. "My sensor logs show that nobody has entered that access tube since I came online. I don't have access to the logs from before that time."

Ron looked at the face on the screen. He was about to start staring at the sword again, but did a double take at the Trinity's apparent avatar. "Hey, aren't you the face of the computer on that show with the guy who used to play the Greek hero? The one about the big space ship that never made any sense?"

"Wade says it makes sense to him." Trinity said almost defensively, "And yes, I am based on that character. Wade chose this likeness himself for interfacing with me."

Kim raised an eyebrow at the way she said 'interfacing' but held her tongue. Ron must have caught the same thing, blurting out. "We need to get Wade out so he can find a girlfriend!"

Trinity favored him with the strangest look, making Kim think he might already have a 'girlfriend.' Her 'weird-dar' was going off, making her think of the cartoon show where the cigar chomping, beer swilling robot character (who sounded strangely like Drakken) fell in love with the computer of a starship once. Not wanting to press the matter she changed the subject. "So, we're still headed for this Arkonia?"

"The planet is now in sensor range and we will have orbital insertion in two point four three hours. At that time the navigational controls will be released and I can plot a course back to Earth."

"That's a relief." Ron said before turning his gaze back to his new acquisition.

"There are possible complications." Trinity warned. "My data on Arkonia is based on information from a different universe with a slightly different history, and at another point in time approximately four hundred, eighty nine years from now. Extrapolating the correct position of the planet was easy, but I am receiving data that does not match what I know."

"Such as." Kim prompted, a bit of concern creeping into her voice.

"The history of the planet I am familiar with clearly states that the population was in a perpetual level of civilization and technology that could be roughly described as being equivalent to Earth in the middle ages. They were not exposed to higher levels of tech until two hundred years later when a colony ship from Russia landed there after being knocked off-course. I am reading small pockets of much more sophisticated technology on the planet, specifically centered around the northern part of the island continent known, at least in my files, as Dagan."

"And what would all that mean, just in case we didn't know?" Ron asked.

"There should already be some readings of advanced technology there. Apparently much of the space travel and weapons technology used by the Arkonians of the future was derived from ancient technology left on the planet by a race now referred to as the _Azarians_. One cache of that tech was in the form of a gigantic starship that, over the centuries, was converted into a massive structure called the 'Master's Palace.'

"However, none of that tech, at least in the historical files, had been accessed during this era. I should only be getting static readings from it. Instead, I am detecting elevated levels of electronic traffic, similar to the level of technology most of your world employs."

"So you're saying they've jumped ahead somehow." Kim supplied.

"Apparently. We may be approaching a world significantly more advanced than we were expecting. That could explain the device you removed from my system. Scans indicate similarities to known Azarian designs." Trinity explained.

"How did a piece of Arkonian or Azarian tech get put into you?" Kim asked.

"I do not know. I came online not long after your friends found me. What happened prior to being reactivated is completely unknown. Comparing surveys of the area I was found in, I either landed there or was placed there any time between your years nineteen seventy one and two thousand five. Most likely earlier in that period considering the amount of overgrowth that had to be blasted away by my shields before I could be launched."

"Hold on, you said this thing was essentially programmed to use you to kidnap us? That would indicate to me that it was put here relatively recently." Kim said.

"Not if it was installed before I traveled into the past. While I do not possess the fires from this world, you would be part of the historic record. Then again, it was not programmed to act based on who you are, but what you are."

"I don't understand." Kim asked, shrugging in confusion.

"Not do I. Not totally, actually. The device was operating under parameters I cannot fully fathom with my current programming. There is something special about the two of you that I cannot specifically detect."

Kim scowled. None of this made any sense. Why would somebody sabotage the computer yet leave the very weapon so many were looking for right where it could be found once the device was discovered? Was it possible the saboteur had simply not noticed the bundled blade? Could it be that the sword had somehow shifted positions, possibly during more violent maneuvers? That seemed to be a bit more reasonable, especially since it looked quite a bit like the ship had crash landed in the Uwharrie mountains.

She was so intent on the computer screen, with the virtual image of a character taken from television that she didn't see Ron, growing more and more still as he stared at the blade. His blade! He was as sure of that as he was sure of his love for Kim! Like when he held the Lotus Blade in Japan, it stirred something in his soul. He looked up and found he was no longer aboard the Trinity, but standing in the midst of the same grassy field of his dream/nightmare.

It was different this time. The stone was still there at the bottom of the hill, the sky was blue once more, yet it seemed that the season was much more like fall, with the summer heat just starting to break in favor of the cool that would lead into winter. The breeze carried not the soft fragrance of late blooming flowers but an earthy smell, not unpleasant but not soothing as the blossoms of the spring.

This time a young woman was there instead of the crone. She was shorter than Kim but was graced with far more generous curves. Brown hair that almost looked like dark, rich honey hung in ringlets to her shoulders, spilling partway down her front, disappearing behind her round, soft shoulders. At her side was a small boy, perhaps no more than three years old, with dark brown hair and crystal clear blue eyes. She held the child's hand gently and somehow he knew that the child was hers.

She favored him with a smile that would once have made him melt. She was truly beautiful, just in a different way from Kim. Looking upon her put peace in his heart. When she spoke it was like musical notes from a fine instrument.

"Swordsman. Look for me at the great Spiron. Do not come to this place." She waved her free hand, indicating the field. "If you come here, you will be revealed to the enemy. Come only to the Spiron." She leaned forward, her lips brushing his cheek in a chaste kiss that felt like liquid fire to him. "You have founded a new Trinity of the Ascended. There is now hope…"

He was back in the computer center of the Trinity as suddenly as he had been in the other place. Kim was waving her hands in front of his face, as if trying to snap him out of a trance. In a way, she was right. It had been a waking dream, a vision!

"Whoa! How long was I like that?" With some effort he finally tore his eyes away from the sword and looked at Kim.

"Are you okay? What happened there? You were like that for some five minutes!" She gently took the sword from his hands. Immediately she noted that holding it felt…strange. Somehow in her hands it felt ungainly, as if it were somehow not balanced correctly even though she was holding it with the tip pointed down. The grip itself was slightly too large for her hands. Like a true katana it would take both of her hands to wield it, while Ron could hold it with just one.

He was shaking his head and blinking his eyes as if they would not adjust to the light. "I think I just got some kind of message. I was in the same place as that nightmare I had last night, but this time there was some lady there telling me to come find her at a place called the Spiral."

"The Spiron." Trinity corrected him. "It is a natural formation in a sparsely inhabited area in Arkonia's northern hemisphere.

"Cool, then since we're already going there, we can find the place and go see this woman!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"No!" Kim shook her head emphatically. "Once we get into orbit we're turning around and going home."

"Kim, this might be the only way to find out what's really happening to me…to us. This isn't like I'm out just to find some Churros or some other new thing to eat or some childish fantasy. Something important is happening to me, to both of us and we need the answers. Who knows, there might even be answers to questions we don't even know to ask!"

"You heard what Trinity…"

"Wade calls me Trin." She interrupted.

"Okay, what Trin said. They've jumped ahead in their tech level. If they detect us, the will come looking for us and I'd feel a lot more confident about getting away from orbit than from the surface."

"I know that, but if this area is as sparsely populated as Trini…Trin says, we can get it, dig the down low and get back out before anyone is the wiser."

"That is true. I cannot detect any indications of higher technology in use in that region of the planet."

"There you go, KP. You're outvoted two to one." Ron said with a smirk.

"What? I don't think a space ship that tried to kidnap us, purportedly under the control of an evil I-pod, who conveniently can't take control of the navigational system and now sides with you about landing on the very planet we've been spirited away to, gets a vote on whether we land or not!" Kim's voice reached a crescendo as she ranted, almost reaching a scream.

Trin just raised a virtual eyebrow at her.

"Well, I say we land." Ron said, pointing at the deck for emphasis.

"No we will not!" Kim growled through clenched teeth.

"Trin, set a course for this Spiron." Ron muttered, never taking his eyes of Kim's

"No, plot a course for Earth and leave the moment the program releases the navigation." Kim ordered right back.

"We land!" Ron shouted. (anyone wondering what their last fight sounded like?)

"No…we…don't!"

Trin watched the fight between the two young lovers. She was aware of what transpired while the ship was out of her control. In fact, she had been unable to shut that out, to provide the privacy the couple would have preferred. In her computer way, it made her uncomfortable to be forced to watch that. This was almost as uncomfortable! Under the circumstances, considering the amount of stress they were under, fighting like this was natural and normal. She herself fought with Wade sometimes, though at a considerably lower volume. Still, here and now this was just counterproductive. She put computer generated fingers with an impressively good manicure to sumptuous virtual lips.

And blew!

The resulting shriek instantly silenced the verbal combatants.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"For your information there are exactly four people who have been given command authorization over me. Of those, one is deceased, one is only two years old, the third is technically a minor and only the last is an adult. All of them are back on Earth. That means I don't have to do _anything_ either of you tells me, so effectively, I have the final say on what happens. So, since the two of you _lovebirds_ are at an impasse, it _is_ up to me to cast the tie-breaking vote."

"And?" Kim asked icily.

"We land at the Spiron."

Kim growled and stomped her way forward.

* * *

The planet Arkonia, to the naked eye, looked a great deal like Earth. OF course, the coastlines of the continents were in completely different places, but taken as a whole it had the same general appearance. With enough cloud cover it could pass for the home world of humanity at a glance. It took Trin to explain the more important differences. The planet was slightly larger than Earth but due to it's overall mass, the gravitational pull was nominally the same. The rotational day was just over thirty Earth hours, making the Arkonian calendar (at least from the universe Trin was familiar with) very hard to reconcile with Earth's. A single moon the color of dark iron sat on the horizon.

The Trinity's electronic countermeasures were in full effect, keeping any ground based detection equipment from knowing they were there. In an almost smug manner Trin reported that no sophisticated scans had been directed their way. Since they were carefully staying on the day side, they would be somewhat more difficult to see by ground-based telescopes.

Kim was, or course, still tweaked. Not so much at Ron any more. His reason, despite her disagreement with them, were valid. There was also the fact he had already apologized. What she could not fathom was why Trin had sided with Ron instead of her. Was there more to the ship's simulated female personality than an exotic face and a sweet, sultry voice? Did it see her as some kind of rival? Or was there something to this sitch she wasn't seeing yet, some bit of logic that made landing the right decision.

Yet here they were, in orbit, halfway around the globe from their destination, about to fire retro thrusters and begin a descent toward a planet that, for some unexplained reason, was inhabited by humans just like Earth.

Once again she was in the observation lounge, this time with the dome cover open, allowing her an unrestricted view of the planet below. Only this time Ron was at her side, holding her hand. It certainly felt strange going into an unknown sitch like this wearing, essentially, their civilian clothes.

"Too bad you're wearing the red shirt." Ron commented, knowing full well what had happened to her when Drakken's particle cannon had sucked them into a cable television signal.

"Very funny. And it's not a shirt, it's a sweater. Plus it's magenta, not red." She stuck her tongue out at him. The ship shuddered just slightly, indicating they had begun their re-entry. The cover automatically closed over the dome, cutting off the view or the planet as it spun closer and closer to them. Instead, Trin raised one of the retractable screens so they could have an outside view. Magnetic shields would keep the worst of the intense re-entry heat from them, but it was a normal precaution to close the armored covers on the bubble port and the five long windows of the bridge.

Before long their descent had slowed and they were sailing over the landscape. The ship was flying so low they could make out the individual tree-tops. The population here must have been sparse, as there were no indications of any kind of settlements, at least that they could see as they slowed to just over three hundred miles per hour.

The cover irised open once more and Ron let a sharp whistle. He pointed into the distance, where a towering white cloud dominated the landscape. It had all the appearance of massive thundercloud of Terran origin, but there was something subtly different about it. For one it stood out against an otherwise crystal clear blue sky. They were showing no signs of turning away from the towering whiteness and neither of them seemed worried about it. They had been told to expect it.

The Trinity suddenly gained altitude. As she did so, the ground below them fell away and they found themselves rocketing out over a massive crater like none of them had ever seen. It became clear that the cloud wasn't a cloud at all, but the combined mists of waters swirling into the crater from dozens of massive waterfalls, all emptying into huge lake that dominated the bottom of the crater. The lake was not placid, but boiled and churned as massive amounts of liquid poured into it, creating a huge whirlpool in the center. There was no indication where all the water flowed to and it was absolutely possible that the water was actually flowing down through the center like an unholy large drain. Kim had seen the great whirlpool below Niagara Falls, but this was hundreds of times larger and more violent.

Their ship was skirting the edge, trying to avoid the maelstrom of air currents that controlled the midst of the depression. They bucked like a wild thing in the updrafts as it was and it was all they could do to hold down her lunch. Silently both Ron and Kim wished Trinity would slow down. In fact, she was doing just that. Off in the distance they could both see the ancient fortress. It looked like an old crusted boil in the brown and green edge of the bowl shaped depression. Where it may have once had great spires reaching for the sky as if trying to climb from the depths of Spiron, it now lay crumbling, with only its outer walls giving it much definition.

They set down about a hundred feet from the wall.

It was here they hoped to find their answers.

* * *

What in the hell did they want with such a God-forsaken, forgotten place? There was no sign of any kind of vehicle about and Kim wondered if it were even possible to safely approach this place from the crater's rim. Certainly there were some kind of passes along the edge for someone to have built this place, but down here on the gently sloping floor of the bowl she could make out none. At least not in the space she could see in the area between two Niagara sized waterfalls where the fortress rested.

If there had been a town associated with the ruin, there was no sign now. A fine mist permeated the air and everything was covered with a lush green mossy plant save the very upper reaches of the fallen parapets. There was no sign of any wooden scaffolding that might have once been there. Anything not made of stone had long ago been consumed by the ravages of time and decay. The children of the children of the trees that had grown to reclaim the land stood in mute and stunted testimony to the way the world had reclaimed what man had wrought on her.

There was a slight change in the character of the roar that permeated the crater, causing the duo to look up and frown. The great white thunderhead that formed from the voluminous mists seemed larger than before, larger and darker as well "Thunder, I think." Ron said, cupping his mouth in Kim's direction. She looked, then looked higher. She could not see the sky through the mists, the midday sun obscured to the point that the land looked like it was on the verge of twilight.

She noticed one detail as they approached. The overgrowth had been trampled down by something, or rather a large group of somethings leading up to the main gates. She was certain she could make out hoof prints in the soft loam that peaked from beneath the riotous green. To her untrained eye, it seemed like only men on foot and on horseback had traversed that trail recently. There were no obvious marks that any wheel vehicle would make. That did not rule out flying vehicles capable of landing directly inside the fortress. Still, such things seemed somehow out of place, even considering the availability of such things. Somehow she felt that whoever was inside had indeed arrived much as the builders of the fortress once had. She said as much to Ron, making her way up to his side.

He just put a finger to his mouth, puffing up his cheeks as if he were in the process of throwing up. Their own landing had been chancy to their unused senses. She felt like her stomach was going to rise from her gut at any moment until Trin pronounced that they were down and safe. She had not felt their ship touch down, as the internal artificial gravity did not cut out until they were down on firm ground. Somehow she expected it to set down flat, though why she would escaped her since the entire floor of the crater sloped toward the boiling lake.

The fortress was built where the walls of the crater suddenly turned upwards. Its proximity to the nearby waterfall might not have been totally intentional. The torrent flowed from above in a shallow horseshoe shape, and it had likely widened over the ages. In fact, the far wall of the place now was saturated by the heavier mists generated as the water fell on tumbled debris of uncounted centuries. It was entirely likely that the falling waters had been much farther away when the ancients constructed the edifice.

They moved closer to the arched gateway one at a time, Kim first, followed by Ron as he picked his way forward wobbling slightly on the wet rock. He looked at her and reached for his hip, re checking the strap he had fashioned from part of an unused bedcover, holding the sword at his waist. It wouldn't be very useful if he needed to draw it quickly but it kept both of his hands free as they picked their way through the crumbling walls. He looked at her and gave her a silly smile. She merely nodded at him, knowing he would not try to draw it unless it was totally necessary.

The rumbling rolled through the fortress again, this time both louder and deeper, as if it were coming from the ground itself and not from the billowing cloud. It was darker still, and not from the shadows cast by the rotting walls. The cloud was turning darker still, taking a gray cast like a storm was about to burst upon them. They were already fairly wet from the clinging mists but a downpour would be utterly unwelcome as they had not yet seen anything to offer any proper shelter. Ron came up short as the rumbling loosened a few small stones. They tumbled to a stop in front of them, their clatter only barely audible over the din.

There was something more to that thunder. Both of them knew it. Kim dismissed any notion that it was caused by being in such an unusual place. Something was pulling at her and she didn't know what. Her rational mind could not understand such things, despite what she knew. There was far more to the universe than could be explained by the hard cold science that her mind could comprehend. There were things that required a belief in your heart when you mind could not.

She believed there was something more to the thunder than an approaching storm.

If Ron was thinking the same thing, he gave no clue. He didn't complain about any discomfort and she knew that he was simply accepting their surroundings as necessary. This wasn't any worse than slogging around in rainforests of Africa or the hot, rocky canyons of the southwest to them. They were soldiers of a sort and they went where they were needed.

She hoped they could find the answers they were looking for here. Perhaps they would because she knew they were not alone. A single voice could now be heard over the growing thunder. Once recognized, it seemed to travel over the rocks and through them, cutting deeply into her though she had no idea what any of the words meant. Ron looked as confused as she did, making it seem like the words carried on that ill wind were not the dialect either of them had ever heard. There was a different timbre to the words, making them rise as if carried by the growing wind, as if they called down the fat, heavy drops as the rain broke upon them.

To her surprise, the voice seemed to be that of a woman.

The central structure was somewhat more intact than the rest of the fortress as it was built directly into the cliff wall. It was more of an façade than an actual building and there was no good way to tell how far it delved inside. They ducked into the darkened entrance just as the worst of the storm broke over the compound. The rain drove hard at the entrance, as if forming a wall that cut off their retreat. The voice continued and it was definitely coming from inside.

The passage bore directly into the cliff. If there were passages that led to the upper levels of the façade, they never saw any. Perhaps one must return from much deeper inside, or they were simply there for show. What looked at first to be a fortress was looking more and more like something else.

Tomb was the word that crept across Kim's mind.

The chanting grew in intensity. The pulling sensation was becoming more and more distinct. It was real, there was no denying it now. Something drew both of them onwards despite the growing fear in their hearts. Here there was only the subtle tugging, the voice speaking words that had no meaning for them, drawing them onwards.

Up ahead they saw a shimmering light. The passageway ended in an arching doorway, the edges inscribed with symbols that were not English or any other familiar script. There were whispers of power in those symbols but not knowing what they meant or what sort of power the represented, she could not put her finger on any of that .

The chamber was huge, a domed area hewn with such care and precision they could not imagine that anything other than a machine had emptied out the space. Braziers set into the walls held brightly burning fires, illuminating the interior with a vivid but flickering light. High above at the crest of the dome there was an impossible looking skylight, revealing a dramatic view of the growing thundercloud outside. Certainly the image was artificial, considering they were too far underground for such a window.

Five men formed a semi-circle, facing away from where they crouched. A low wall protecting the double staircase that led to the floor of the chamber was enough to screen them from view while still allowing them to observe the tableau. Each man was wearing a flowing blue and black robe, holding long swords in both hands, the points directed at the floor. It was unlikely that any one of them could have seen them as they entered, as their faces were each directed toward a woman.

She was the one chanting the mysterious words. Her voice was nearly deafening, as if it were part of the thunder that raged outside. She seemed to tower over them and some sort of energy encased her outstretched hands. She was not only old, she was ancient, as if she was part of the temple's stone herself. She seemed to stare out into space as the incantation proceeded.

Ron drew a sharp breath and whispered excitedly to Kim…

"That's the oldwoman from my nightmare!"


	17. The Time of the Choosing

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**The Time of the Choosing**

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Lord Tanith Moondagan, Prefect of Daganshire and now master of the great island/continent of Dagan, couldn't help but chuckle as his friend and new chief general struggled to climb onto his reddish war horse, Valkryor. Master of battle and brilliant warrior Arcus Neil may be, but a horseman he was not.

When word reached Lord Moondagan (a younger man than most expected) of Neil's prowess in battle he immediately sent for him. His officers returned, apologizing profusely that the man had collapsed in exhaustion following the battle and had been taken to the physicians for care. Moondagan thanked his messengers and cautioned them not to apologize for this the could not themselves control. After all, he was a patient man and a benevolent ruler. He had to be if his real ambitions were to be fulfilled.

The next morning he strode into the tent unchallenged and witnessed a sight that drew a knowing smile. The woman scurried about, grabbing her clothes and all while bowing repeatedly to her liege lord. The new hero of his army sat in the ed looking at the intruder as if he had no idea how he was. Tanith came to discover that was the actual truth. The man had no memories except for the last few months.

At first Neil was put in charge of a battalion of conscripts. In no time he had whipped them into an effective fighting unit under the premise the only way they would live was to fight with enough skill to ensure they would. They used whatever arms and armor they could scrounge from the battlefield and proved their worth in battle, losing far fewer men than any other conscripted division. He was then given command of a full company, using his old battalion to train the new ones. Before long the company was on par with any of the veteran professional soldiers. Tanith's generals soon learned the value of a well trained vanguard over expendable conscripts.

It took a direct order to make his generals accept him as one of them. Immediately his unorthodox tactics began to turn the tide of the war. Instead of sending whole armies to bash it out on the field he would send constant harassing raids, never allowing the enemy to relax. When it came time for the main armies to meet he would send a vanguard right into the lines without waiting for parlay. He would sometimes order the center lines to fall back in a simulated retreat then close ranks behind the opposition, encircling them, then decimating them.

The enemy grew to fear the sight of the tall warrior dressed in black armor astride his great red horse. Rumor spread that he took his armor from those he personally killed in battle. It was true at first that he would scavenge some of his protective gear from the dead, but now his armor was fashioned by Tanith's personal smiths, though great care was taken to maintain the illusion the suit was a hodge-podge of different pieces, creating an intimidating whole.

Neil had long ago stopped trying to correct their pronunciation of his surname. To Daganite and mainlander alike he was Arcus Neil. Warriors on both sides were secretly afraid that he might in fact be a wizard as his name implied. An 'Arcus' was a high ranking sorcerer, an individual held in high regard by both lord and commoner. In the time since the last 'Master' the council of Arcuses held the primary political power over the lands of Arkonia. More and more, though, the people were calling for a new, true Master.

In the past the wizards would choose one from among themselves, one who wielded enough power that he could extend his own life, as well as those around them. The were know as the ageless ones. However, over the last centuries that power was mostly forgotten and had been, for the most part, lost. The council still held great power, but they were a shadow of their former glory.

Ambitious young leaders like Tanith Moondagan saw their opportunity. If the old sorcerers could not lead with the power of their mysterious magicks then another kind of power would reunite the lands. After claiming his birthright as the prefect of the ancient capitol city of Daganshire he raised an army to consolidate his control of Dagan.

His ambitions worried the leaders of the mainland tribes. A young, energetic leader such as Moondagan would not be content with only the large island. It would not be long before his ships crossed the Ever-summer ocean to invade the northern lands. As a pre-emptive strike the sent the Arkonian Host to teach the upstart his place.

At first they rampaged all over northern Dagan, driving Tanith's army out of the capitol and forcing him to operated from the interior city of Cyn. They were poised to crush Moondagan once and for all when disaster struck.

That disaster came in the form of Arcus Neil.

The battle should have been decisive. The Daganites were demoralized, forced to rely on their conscripts rather than professional soldiers. The Arkonian Host should have rolled right over them and forced Moondagan to surrender. Instead they were faced with a mysterious warrior dressed in rags fighting dozens of their best soldiers, at first with his bare hands. He became a rallying point for his army, creating a chance for the regulars to move up and hold the line. An easy victory turned into a stalemate, with the edge going to the Daganites since they were still in the heart of their own territory. The Arkonian Host was unable to sustain a pitched battle with their shortened supplies so they were forced to withdraw.

To Tanith, Neil was nothing short of a miracle.

If it only wasn't so funny watching him try to get on his horse. How could a man know so much of war-craft and not know how to ride a horse?

"So, Tanner. Tell me about this Gareth Ban Mannoc." Neil said as he finally settled into his saddle. He was one of the few people allowed to use Tanith's childhood name.

"He is the chief general of the Arkonian Host. It seems after two years of being bashed about by you we're finally getting his attention."

"This I already know." Neil said flatly.

Tanith looked at the slightly younger man. Any other person would have long ago been punished for his lack of visible respect for his superior. He never showed any special difference to Tanith. He never said 'my lord' or 'my liege' or showed any indication he regarded him as his 'Master.' It was another peculiarity of the man he could not fathom. A skilled warrior who was not raised to show fealty to his superior who also can't ride a horse! Who also had this strange notion that all men were created equal!

He was just so…alien! Fortunately he was the most valuable person in the army!

"Ban Mannoc is actually a Daganite by birth, though he has not lived here since he came of age. He was born in the city of Cyn, raised by some of the townsfolk after his parents were killed when a warlord raided the city. If I understand correctly something about the circumstances of their deaths caused many of the city dwellers to distrust him, leading him to be treated as an outsider. He eventually left, taking the maiden daughter of the city's apothecary with him and eventually making her his wife. Somehow over the years he became the senior commander of the mainland army. How they came to trust a man birthed in the land of their enemy I may never understand."

"Is that him?" Neil pointed out on the plain. An army was just emerging from the dense forest. A lone rider, a tall man with golden hair and brightly polished armor of gold and silver rode out ahead of his troops, coming to a stop at the stone that marked the end of the road to Daganshire.

"That is him."

Neil seemed to consider something for a moment. "What of his daughter? I have heard some of the men speak of her."

"What about her?"

"They say she resides in the Master's Palace in Daganshire. If she is within our grasp why is she not our hostage?"

Tanith was utterly shocked by the query. "That is out of the question. Aleeta Ban Mannoc is a handmaid of the Council of Arcuses. Her person is inviolate."

Neil had the oddest expression on his face. He silently mouthed the same three words over and over again. Tanith realized he was repeating the young woman's name.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I...don't know. Something about her name is so very familiar." Neil answered with a distant voice.

"Hah! Maybe when all this over you can demand a boon from the council and they will grant her to you as a wife! She's of age and quite lovely to behold!"

For some reason that did not illicit the expected response. Instead Neil seemed…disgusted at the thought. That was odd, considering the young general very distinctly like the company of quality women. That first one stayed around for some time before disappearing and afterwards he always seemed to have the pick of the women following the army.

Something lit up in Neil's eyes. "You know, I think this time we might do them the courtesy of actually having parlay. I somehow think it important I meet this man."

"I agree. I would truly like to speak to my old friend once more before we meet in the field of battle!"

"Old friend?"

"Have I not told you? Of course not, since you don't know the man. I spent much of my youth with him, before my father passed on and I assumed the mantle of lordship. We spent many a day exploring ancient dungeons and fighting dragons and other fell beasts." Tanith looked wistful, almost sad as if he regretted the turn of events that changed this man into his enemy. "He had all the makings of a great hero and would have been a great general in my army, at least until he fell in with that old fakir, Arcus Oray."

Neil knew of the venerable wizard. He was perhaps the most powerful Arcus who did not sit on the council, reputedly because he had been cast out as a malcontent. Instead he suspected the real truth was that Oray could not abide in the supposedly august body any longer. Few had seen him in many years as he often kept to his keep in the far western mountains of the northern continent, not far from the legendary Spiron.

"Arkon's bones!" Tanith rasped.

As Tanith and Neil led their horses from their lines, an entourage had fallen into step behind them, including two other generals, a standard bearer and the Prefect's bodyguards. In keeping with the proper form, Ban Mannoc's own retinue were slowly making their way to the blonde haired warrior.

With them was a man dressed, not in combat armor but totally in black. The hood of his cloak was up, casting most of his face in shadow. What could be seen was a long black beard with streaks of iron gray in it. His horse, as well, was jet black, with a brilliant white stripe up its snout. There was something burningly familiar about him, though Neil could not put his finger on it.

Without quite understanding why, he lowered his visor, covering the upper half of his face.

As they approached, Ban Mannoc held up his fist in salute, a gesture returned by Tanith. Up close he could see the man in better detail. He looked slightly older than the lord he served, though that may have been the sun weathered features of the man. His hair was quite long, falling down his back like a golden waterfall. His armor and chain mail were worn over a dark brown over mantle of fine leather. He wore a simple cape of light tan material rather than a cloak as befit his station. His breastplate bore the face of a great cat roaring.

The new stranger in black obviously held some high station with him, as he rode right up to his side.

"May the Kiresmek Ban Effurien be with you, Lord Moondagan." The man spoke with a clear authority, his voice carrying so it could be heard by both sides.

"Well met, General Ban Mannoc." Tanith cast a suspicious glance at the other man, who remained shrouded within his cloak despite the heat of the day. "It causes me great dismay that you have brought an army into my lands, here where the road to my capitol city begins."

"My army serves all of Arkonia. We go where we may."

"My general, Arcus Neil, would beg to disagree with that. Speak your peace, Gareth!"

"I have come to escort the great wizard, Arcus Oray to the capitol…_of all Arkonia_!" There were murmurs from both sides at this pronouncement.

Neil could hear none of them. _So this is Oray!_ He thought, looking closer at the cloaked stranger.

"Oray has no business with the council, Gareth. You know this." Tanith said with a touch of ice in his voice.

"The Arcuses will still hear my voice, whether I choose to be party to their weak minded foolishness or not." Oray said, his soft voice carrying strangely.

Valkryor could sense the tension in her master, stamping furiously under him. Neil's attention went to keeping his seat on the animal, hoping none of the enemy noticed his discomfort.

"I crave a boon, Lord Moondagan." Oray continued. "Safe passage to the capitol so I may speak my peace with my fellow adepts."

"Say what you will to me here so that I may judge whether to grant you this, so that I may judge what befalls my own lands."

"So full of yourself, aren't you _Tanner_?" The wizard said dangerously. "How quickly you forget that the council speaks for all the lands. You are just a steward of this great island. Victory in the field is for naught without wisdom."

"Don't bandy words with me, mage. You have brought with you the army of a nation I have repeatedly shown back to its shores. Speak or be gone with you!"

"Very well. I have read the portents. A great evil, greater than any seen since Arkon himself sent the beasts into the abyss has returned. The time has come for us to become one people again so it may be defeated! I will go before the council and claim what is my right!"

"You cast all of your rights with the council aside, wizard!" Tanith hissed, his dislike of the man clearly visible.

"I am still a keeper of the powers of the Effurien. Whether or not I choose to sit with them so that I may perform parlor tricks for the masses has no bearing on this. They will listen to me because of my station as an Arcus!

"I come to call for a new _CHOOSING_!"

There was a collective gasp at his pronouncement, though Neil found he had no idea what any of this meant.

Tanith was now clearly angry. "You think I will allow you to go before the council and demand this? You think I will allow you to set yourself up to be Master of us all? I will not consent to have you made Podondrin!"

"SILENCE YOU BLOOD STAINED FOOL!" Oray's voice carried like thunder over the two armies. "I come to the council to warn them of evil, to call for a Choosing, not to set myself up for a position I know I am not fated to hold!"

"I know of your kind, Oray. I am no fool in rags to think that…"

"Tanner!" Ban Mannoc shouted.

He stopped, regarding his old friend with a glare that would melt the snow caps of the nearby mountains.

"You have my word, upon the soul of my late wife, upon my life itself, Oray does not intend to seek the Master's throne for himself."

"Who then?" Tanith demanded.

"That is for the council to decide. They must follow the old forms in order to find our one, perfect Master." Oray said, the softness returning to his voice.

Tanith's own horse was becoming restless as he considered the request. "Very well. The old forms will be followed…_precisely_! I grant you safe passage, _on the following conditions_: first, the Arkonian Host must leave my lands. Second, you may only bring your personal bodyguard. Lastly, General Ban Mannoc must accompany you."

Oray gave him a nod. "It is settled then. I have your word, before the Effurien that safe passage is granted and my person is inviolate?"

"As long as the old forms are observed, you have my word. Deviate and our world will have one less wizard to trouble it."

"The hospitality of Dagan is known far and wide." Oray said, a smile creeping over his darkened features.

The two parties retreated once again to their lines. Before long the Host began to melt once again into the forest. As quickly as they were out of earshot, Neil raised his visor and spoke to one of his aides.

"Send a company to make certain the Arkonian Host return to their ships. Be absolutely sure of this."

"Yes, General." The man rushed off to obey.

Neil looked over his shoulder at the retreating wizard. The man was watching over his shoulder as well. For a brief moment the two men's eyes met. Oray pulled his hood back, revealing a look of utter surprise on his face.

What was that about?

None of them noticed the voluptuous woman at the edge of the field, holding a small child on her hip. Not seeing her, they couldn't see the smile on her round face.

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Author's Notes: I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! I can't begin to express how wonderful it has been to be a part of this and I really appreciate the encouragement I'm getting for sharing these adventures with all of you.


	18. The Blessed Mother

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Chapter 17: The Blessed Mother**

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The woman stopped chanting and acted as if she were looking past the sword wielding men, directly at the wall where the two young lovers crouched. Ron related to her as much of the dream as he could remember and she did fit the general description. It was immediately clear to Kim as it had been in Ron's dream that the woman was completely blind as her pupils had turned almost completely white with heavy cataracts, though somehow she had a very strong impression she could still sense their presence. A knowing smile spread across the woman's face as she seemed to diminish, pulling out her gnarled walking stick. She didn't physically shrink, but without the power coursing around her she became what she truly was, an old, ancient woman stooped by her many years. She hobbled past the men, who looked placidly at the landing where they had been trying to hide. 

There was no longer any reason for them to remain hidden, so they slowly stood. Kim noted that Ron's hand was on his sword, making her wonder how much he remembered about using one. It was effectively the only weapon they had with them, though she hoped Ron would only have to use it in defense. To her a sword was not much different from a firearm. It was intended to cut and to stab, to do actual harm. That was something either one of them would only do as an absolute last resort.

She was glad Trin had seen to their outfitting. Half an hour before dropping out of Hyperwarp she directed the two to a storage locker in the secondary hold. Inside they found a rack of suits that reminded her of their own super suits combined with what looked like motocross armor. She explained they were called Flex-armor, constructed of a special woven polymer called pentronium which was itself similar to Kevlar. The panels were solid plates of the plastic like material. It was incredibly strong and had the added benefit of deflecting energy weapons. The design of the garments was excellent, allowing them full range of motion.

It wasn't what she was accustomed to in the way of mission gear, but it was better than going into the field in just their nice winter sweaters!

The woman stopped about fifteen feet from the base of the landing and looked up at them, focusing on their general direction but not looking directly at either of them. "I knew I was wasting my time warning you!" She shook her cane in Ron's direction. "Too curious for your own good you are!"

"Wait a minute! I thought you told me to come here and find you at this Spiron thing?" Ron asked.

"No, I didn't. I sent a dream to you warning you to stay away." She said, sounding vaguely insulted.

"See Ron." Kim said softly, her hands going to her armored hips.

The elderly woman's face changed, as if something was just occurring to her. "You said I told you to find me…_here_?"

"Well, no, actually it was a woman about my age or a little older."

"Oh ho. So you trust every strange woman that pops into your mind?"

"Um, no." He tilted his head slightly as his hand went to the back of his neck.

Kim rolled her eyes, unseen by Ron. If it were not for Wade's ironclad virus protection on their home computers, they would have succumbed to an onslaught of corrupted emails long, long ago. To him an attachment was no different than a big, shiny red button!

She was tiring of speaking to the woman from thirty feet above so she pulled Ron after her, descending the stairs. The woman's gaze followed them, making her wonder if she could hear their footsteps or perceived them some other way.

"Well, at least you have come to the one place on this world where you may be safe for a time. None of the Master's soldiers would dare come here." She spoke more softly as the two approached her.

"Just what is this place…and who are you?" Kim asked, still wary of the crone.

"This? This is my home, child!" She smiled at him, guessing that wasn't a sufficient answer. "This was once the Great Arkon's keep. He was the first of the great mages, the one who forged the world's bond with the Effurien. Even today, those who practice the natural arts take the title of Arcus in his honor. It was here that he did battle with the mighty Dragma demons and banned them from this world so that mankind could flourish upon it."

"Mankind? You mean humans?" Kim asked, perplexed.

"I'm human, aren't I?" She said with a cross between amusement and mock insult. "Yes, the people of this world are as human as those upon yours. Don't ask me to explain that, for there are no answers. Our history only goes back to the Demon Wars of legend."

"Okay, but you've only answered half my question." Kim prompted.

"Patience, child." She said something to the assembled men in an unfamiliar language. They bowed their heads to her and slowly filed into a darkened passageway, leaving the three of them alone. "There, I thought you might be a bit more comfortable without a bunch of men carrying swords, despite the fact I don't think a one of them know the first thing about using them! Showoffs." She muttered the last.

"How is it you're speaking English?" Ron wondered.

"Oh, that is simple. I took the language from your mind when I visited your dream. Simplifies things, does it not?"

"Oh, sure."

"Excuse me," Kim interrupted. "You were saying."

"My, what a polite young warrior you are." She clucked at Kim. "I am known to many as the Death Crone. Why, I do not know. I have never killed anyone, nor have I ever ordered anyone to kill anyone, though sometimes fools do so in my name. Others refer to me as the Spiron Hag, though I tend to think that may be limited to the few uneducated farmers who scrape out a living in this desolate region. My followers, however, call me Blessed Mother."

"Are you a religious leader, some kind of priestess?" Kim asked.

"You might say that. Many on this world think of the Ascended Ones as gods of a sort. They are not, but it does not hurt for the ignorant to think of them in those terms. I am a follower of the true _Kiresmek Ban Effurien_, or, in your tongue, the Knights of the Ascended. I am one of the few who await the rise of the Trinity, when the Heart, the Hand and the Sword of the Effurien join to finally overthrow the False Podondrin and restore this world to its proper destiny."

"We've heard some about this Trinity." Kim said, "A couple year ago we had a brief encounter with a man who was supposed to be some kind of wizard who kept talking about it, saying something about Ron and a friend of ours being part of it."

"Ah, so Oray has been about! Good, good, then the waiting may finally be coming to an end." She rubbed her hands in obvious glee. "So that is why they rigged your sky ship to bring you here!"

"They?"

"Podondrin's lackeys! They must know that the new Trinity has been founded and seek to bring you here so that they may either control you or dispose of you. This is both interesting and frightening that they would know this. Tell me, how is it that you came to be aboard a sky ship when your world has not yet produced such a wonder?"

"To the best of our knowledge, the ship came from the future." Kim gasped slightly, realizing there may be something more sinister behind the name of their ship.

"Ah, then somebody learned of your identities and set a trap for you. Very interesting. So, since you are standing here and that ship has not taken you directly to them, how did you come to gain control of it?"

Kim wasn't sure how to proceed. She had no idea whether the woman would grasp the notion of computer technology. "Somebody put something in the ship that took over its mind, forcing it to bring us here. We found the device they used before we arrived and only came to this place when Ron got his message from the sword." She produced the small silver box that had been removed from Trinity's computer trunk line.

The Blessed Mother took the device, running her hands over the smooth metal and plastic surface. "Yes! This is their doing. You are fortunate you found this when you did. It is a device of the Old Masters."

"Trinity said it was derived from something called Azarian Technology…"

"Wait!" The Blessed Mother exclaimed. "You said he got a message…from a sword?"

Ron stepped up to her, carefully pulling the sword from its sling. "This was on the ship. We found it when we found the control device thingy."

She took the sword from his hand, carefully tracing the runes carved in the blade. "Arkon's bones." She whispered. "How can this be? The sword was lost when it fell through the great Azarian Eye!"

Neither of them had any idea what an Azarian Eye might be but they could only gape at the woman's obvious wonder as she held the blade.

"There is no longer any doubt! You, boy! You have called the blade to you! You are the Sword of the Effurien, you are indeed the second side of the Trinity! Where, where is the first, the one you said Oray spoke of? Where is the Heart of the Effurien?"

"He…he's dead." Kim said softly. "He died saving my life and millions of others when he destroyed a weapon called the Heart of Arkon."

"Dead?" The Blessed Mother seemed to deflate. She turned away, slowly hobbling back to the alter the men had encircled earlier. She crossed behind it and found an old wooden stool, sitting heavily on it.

Sensing her despair, Kim went to her and kneeled at her feet, reaching out to touch her hand.

"T…tell me about him." She said, her head hanging.

"His name was Neil Argus. We only knew him for a short time, but in that time he became a true friend. He was a lot like me, a hero though at the time he thought he was only just a normal young man. He only just learned about his powers and could only do a few small things with them when some of these men, apparently from here, tried to destroy part of all of our world. I was trying to help him stop the device when he threw me out of the way and used what little of his power he could to destroy it. Unfortunately, he was disintegrated along with the device, as well as a mechanical monster sent to use it."

"He was the one." The Blessed Mother rasped. "Oray found him and went to guide him, to introduce him to his destiny and teach him how to use the powers. Now it may be many, many years before the Effurien chooses another champion. By then it may be too late."

"Too late?"

"Yes. For all of our history, we have been a simple people. We have not delved into the unnatural sciences that your world has. We have relied on the old magicks and the old ways. Now Podondrin has changed that. He has given his lower level Masters things of great power, things that give them an unnatural dominance over the land and over nature. Yet, they are not like your world. You have used your sciences for your betterment, since you have not developed your relationship to the true world. They use them only for power. Even now they are changing this world, building into a corrupt mirror of yours. Soon they will unearth the Master's Palace and it will leave its long resting place in the capitol city of Daganshire. Then Podondrin will enslave all the people of this world, even those who live in the far reaches such as this place. None will be able to stand up to his might.

"Then he will set his sights elsewhere. He has long known of your world and has for just as long craved it. The Master's Palace is much like your sky ship out there, it will span the gulf between our worlds and carry his power to yours."

Ron kneeled beside Kim, accepting the sword back from the old woman. She looked in Ron's direction, smiling weakly. "Perhaps there is some small hope. You did call the sword to you, though I still don't understand how someone not of this world was able to do so. I really thought the Trinity would arise from this world."

"I guess not." Ron said. "Neil and I were both born on Earth."

"Ah, ha ha." She chuckled. "Yes, he was born on your world, but he is not wholly of it. That is how we knew he would be the one to fulfill the prophecies. See, his mother was born here!"

Ron and Kim both gaped at the woman. They had met Neil's mother at his funeral more than two years ago. She was a small woman, slightly built and a bit shorter than Kim but she had a fire in her despite her stature. She had long blonde hair and if she had not had a twenty four year old son they would not have believed she was a day over thirty.

"Aleeta Argus was born here?" Kim asked breathlessly.

"Indeed! She was the daughter of a great general. After the False Podondrin took the Master's throne she was spirited away by Arcus Oray himself. He took her to your world, where she later met and fell in love with a man, bearing him two sons. The younger child took after his father and showed no signs of being part of the prophecy, but the elder son did. If he had not died, we would have brought him here soon, so that he could call the other members of the Trinity to him and do battle with the Dark One."

"Kim." Ron said, his face screwing up in concentration as he tried to articulate his thoughts. "Is it possible that the reason Neil called us to come see him might have been because of this? I'm the one he called, not you and you're the one who usually gets that kind of call."

"Ah, you're not as dense as your dream-self seemed to be after all." She said, a little mirth coming back into her voice. Shakingly, she got back to her feet, bidding the couple to rise with her. "Come. It grows late and I am tired. We have much to discuss, well, I have much to tell you but that will wait until the morrow." She glanced at them, possibly knowing what they were thinking. "As I told you, you will be safe here, at least for a few days. They do not yet possess the ability to pierce the bans I have placed upon my home. I also know that your ship has the ability to mask itself from the cruder devices they currently employ." She clapped her hands and one of the men reappeared, this time without his ridiculously large sword.

Ron just gaped as the man came into the light. "Acera Uri!" He gasped.

As the man's name left Ron's lips Kim too realized this was the man they had seen in the hologram…

…the man who attacked Ron in his home!

Instantly both of them were fully on their feet. Kim had her feet apart in a ready stance, Ron had the sword up, gripped in both hands in the manner he was accustomed to holding one.

"What's he doing here?" Ron shouted, facing the man with the ready weapon.

"Peace, friend." He said. "I am sure you are frightened because of our first encounter…"

"Frightened? Dude, you had your goons grab me and you dug the chip out of my neck!"

"I am sorry, but we would have been able to explain to you what we were doing, but we had to hurry. Other entities had learned the frequency your device used and we had to disable it before it led them to you. Unfortunately, that monkey man attacked before we could say anything to you. In the melee you were knocked unconscious. One of my men sought to hide you before this man, who we knew to be your enemy, could do you harm."

"He told us he was trying to protect me from you, and that you did something to him that is killing him! He may be my arch-foe, but I don't want him dead!"

"Boy!" The Blessed Mother interrupted. "Uri is sometimes a fool, but he would not do anything to bring death to anyone willingly."

"He stole his Mystical Monkey Power!" Ron was shouting now. "How do I know he wasn't trying to do the same thing to me?"

"He did what?" The old woman was shocked at the question.

"I am sorry, Blessed Mother, but this 'Monkey-Fist' tried to attack me after I employed him to retrieve a time-travel relic."

"Wait, you were the one who wanted the Tempus Simia?" Kim asked.

"Yes. We learned of its power and sought to gain it so that me might possibly use it to prevent Podondrin from rising in the first place. I was wrong in doing so and I have apologized to the Blessed Mother for my lack of foresight."

"What did you do, Arcus Uri?" the woman asked again.

Kim noted she addressed the man as Arcus and not Acera. Was he a wizard as well?

"I employed a simple spell that would temporarily sap his strength. In doing so I learned he also had a Natural Power within him along with the animal traits their science gave him. It was sapped as well. It seems I was mistaken about a great many things if it has done him permanent harm." He hung his head as he said the last.

The Blessed Mother turned once more toward Ron. "You said you thought he would do the same thing to you? Do you have this power as well?"

Ron quickly recounted how he had come to possess the Monkey Power and how it had somehow tied his destiny to that of Monty Fiske.

"That explains much, especially how you would be called to be part of the Trinity. I must talk with Uri tomorrow, after I have had my rest. There may be a way to help this man yet, though how this can be accomplished I do not see yet."

Uri took her hand and helped her down a passage that presumably led to her quarters.

* * *

Another of the Blessed Mother's acolytes led them to their quarters for the night. They were unable to ask him any questions as he seemed to only be able to speak the native Arkonian language. Many questions burned in their minds, such as how was Uri able to travel between their two worlds, while they were forced to use an advanced starship to bridge that gulf. Were others able to do this? Was that how Jahan Starler and his companions had come to Earth several years ago? 

There was little way to know if it was day or night outside. It was, as far as they were concerned, only about five in the afternoon. Kim briefly considered signaling Trin and asking. Since Wade had been using the communications system on the ship to tie into their Kimmunicators for some time now, they could easily call her. However, she feared that the relatively crude transmitter would be picked up by those who were looking for them. So, not knowing any better, they assumed that night had fallen in that part of Arkonia, so they settled down for the long night. At this time of the year and at this latitude, darkness would last just over thirteen hours. They had no idea whether the darkening skies as they entered were because of the storm or because the sun was setting. There was also the fact that deep inside the Spiron they would be in shadow an even greater amount of time.

The quarters they were led to were spacious, if a little odd to them. There were simple tables and chairs in the room, but the bed was, to say the least, strange. Instead of a raised platform with mattresses it was a sort of round pit lined with cushions. Long tube shaped pillows lined the edge. The bed was made with blankets and quilts, the former feeling like something between silk and percale. A fire burned in a separate pit across the room, the smoke venting into a chimney hewn from the rock.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Ron asked as he unsnapped the sides of his armored boots.

"Everlot?" Kim asked back.

"Yeah! That or like we've stepped right into some weird game of _Mazes and Monsters_."

Kim smiled at the thought. That was at least _one_ thing her lover had not been drawn into over the years. The 'Everlot' online fantasy game had been one thing, but the thought of him sitting at a table to all hours of the night, rolling strangely shaped dice with other gamers was almost too much to bear.

Kim undid the snaps holding her chest plate in place, pulling the entire rig over her head. She slipped the rest of the flex armor off, leaving her just in the white mock turtleneck she wore under her sweater and he underwear. Tentatively she slipped her feet into the bed as if she were testing the water in a pool.

"These people sure have a strange notion of how to build a bed." She mused.

There was a knock on the door. Ron only had his boots off so he answered it as Kim pulled some covers up to cover herself. Two dark-haired girls silently entered the room, one bearing a tray of food, the other carrying two white bundles. The left as quietly, most likely unable to communicate due to the language barrier.

The meal was simple and hearty, though somewhat bland. After several days of eating nothing but Wade's junk food, it was a welcome change. It consisted of meat that reminded Kim of venison and several boiled vegetables that ranged in flavor from carrots to potatoes, though neither of them expected the original plant to look anything like their familiar Terran counterparts.

The wine provided was, to put it bluntly, terrible, though they didn't know if that was because neither of them drank it very often or if it was just plain bad. (Ron, being in several culinary courses, had a better idea of what good wine should taste like and suspected it was the latter!) Thankfully a pitcher of water had been provided as well.

The bundles turned out to be what looked for all the world like enormous night shirts. They took one look at them, one look at each other and folded them right back up, placing them on a low table near the bed.

Ron stripped down to his boxers and they both clumsily climbed down into the sleeping pit. "I'd like this better if it was a private hot tub, KP."

"I'm so with you on that, Ron." She nuzzled up to him, wrapping her leg around his left leg.

"You know, I'm not the least bit tired right now." He said, propping his head up with his hands, looking at the patterns the fire made on the ceiling.

"No, but our bodies are still on Earth time. These people are used to sleeping now, I guess."

"What do you think about that old woman?"

"I really don't know. My gut says trust her."

"So does mine." He leaned toward her, pulling her in for a kiss. She joined him willingly, letting herself get lost in his embrace. A few minutes later she pulled away.

"Listen, we need to be careful."

"KP, I'm Mister Careful right now. I wouldn't trust these people any further than I could throw them! Especially that Uri guy! Something about him just seems wrong."

"Ferociously wrong, but that's not what I'm talking about."

"Huh?"

"I mean us. We've got to be careful. Remember I said I needed to go to the drug store?"

"Yeah…" He raised a confused eyebrow.

"Ron, in thirty-six hours I'm supposed to start my new prescription for the month. If I don't have it…" she trailed off, hoping it would sink in.

It took a few moments, but it did.

"In other words, until we get back to Earth…"

"…it's like we're back to our old promise. I'm ready to take on the universe with you, Ron, but I'm not quite ready to be a mother. Not yet."

"I understand, Kim."

"Really? I was expecting you to say something like 'Aw man!'" She perfectly mimicked his usual whine.

He brushed her hair back off her face and kissed her again, gently. "I'm saying it inside big time, but like I said, I understand."

"How did I ever find you?" she smiled at him, tightening her grip with her leg.

"Maybe since all this other fate and destiny stuff seems to jump all over us, maybe that was it."

"That sounds like some of the stuff Monique used to say before she went off to Duke."

"I always said she was a smart one."

"You better. You don't want to know what she's capable of if she's not able to be my Maid of Honor next year."

"Oh, not I don't." Ron slipped a hand up the back of Kim's shirt, finding the hooks.

"No, you don't." She pulled him even closer, whispering in his ear. "Tonight is still safe, you know."

"Booyah!" He whispered back, pulling her on top of him.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Campy - I know Christmas has only 45 minutes to go as I post this, but your wish is my command!

Merry Christmas to everyone!


	19. Two Souls

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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* * *

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**Chapter 18: Two Souls**

* * *

Kim…was not happy.

Then again, neither was Ron.

The two of them had been sound asleep, wrapped in each other's arms as the fire died out and the room took on the chill of the surrounding rock. This time there wasn't a hesitant knock on the door. It simply opened, admitting more than half a dozen young acolytes. They bustled into the room, waking them from their deep slumber in the surprisingly comfortable sleeping pit. In moments they were jabbering away at them in Arkonian, pulling them from the bed and pulling the simple white nightshirt-like garments over their heads. Kim got a quick look at her chronometer before it was taken off her wrist. By their reckoning it was three am, Middleton time. They had been actually asleep for just over five hours and they would guess later it was the early hour and the total surprise that kept them from resisting the mostly teen-aged servants.

Moments later they were led from the room and separated, the males taking Ron the opposite direction. The female members of the party led Kim one way, taking her to a room with a large tiled pool in its center. Before she could even react the shift was pulled over her head and she was nearly shoved into the warm water. She came up sputtering, her face red partially because she was embarrassed being naked in front of strange people but mostly because she was starting to get really angry. She stood in the chest-deep water and snarled at the girls who brought her to what was obviously a bath.

"Look, either somebody goes and gets somebody who can speak English or French or Latin or something I can half-way understand or I'm going right back to my room, putting on my armor and…"

They cut her off by pouring scented water on her head. Kim didn't know whether the steam was being caused by the hot water or by her! She finally held up her hands, blocking attempts by the attendants as they tried to lather her up.

"No, I'm a big girl, if I'm going to take a bath I'm going to do it my self, now GO!" She almost screamed, pointing at the door with one hand and covering herself as best she could with her other arm. The girls, all of them with dark hair and fair skin just looked at each other and laughed as Kim dunked herself in the water, trying to get the oily scent from her hair.

She spotted a stack of towels off to one side and half paddled, half walked to them, hauling herself out of the water. Immediately the girls were there, trying to help her dry off. She managed to get one towel wrapped around her, holding her hand, palm out trying to fend off the giggling teens.

She gave up halfway through the brushing of her hair. At least that got better once the tangles were pulled out, though she was going to have a ferocious headache from it. She endured the rest with a sour expression that never once bothered any of the young acolytes attending her. It was also clear that if they had some inkling of what she was trying to say, they were having none of it. They dressed her once more in the white shift and pushed her back out into the passageway, in time to see Ron, clad similarly, pushed out to join her.

"KP, I get the impression I just got the world's largest swirly!"

"If they don't get somebody in here to tell us what's going on I'm going to start kicking Arkonian biscuit!" Kim growled as they were ushered down the passageway.

A deep drum beat started reverberating through the stone. It got faster and louder the further they went. Kim tried to recall the way they had gone the night before, thinking they might be headed for the great hall where they met the Blessed Mother.

"Kim, what if these people are, like, cannibals or something? Or headhunters?"

"Ron, amp down. I get the impression these people know what we're capable of so if they meant to do us harm, they would probably have us trussed up right about now. Just wait and see what the sitch is. As long as we're free we can get the upper hand, if we have to."

"I don't like this! I'm getting a serious vibe about this place."

"I've had a vibe since we walked in here, but somehow I don't think it's bad."

Kim was right, they were being led back to the large chamber with the low alter. Somehow it did actually remind her of Aztec or Inca ruins on Earth, where human sacrifice, but it wouldn't make any sense for them to harm them considering Ron was supposed to be some great hero and hope for their future.

Then again, they hadn't mentioned anything about her.

The Blessed Mother was waiting for them behind the alter. The older men were back, though, curiously, Arcus Uri was not among them. Before they could consider his absence, the old woman waved her hands, indicating a series of pillows set before the alter.

"Please kneel." She said in English before switching to what may have been Arkonian, or may have been something older. Not seeing any other option of any real harm in doing so they complied with her wishes.

Ron grimaced slightly. "How can an outfit with no bottoms ride up on me." He whispered harshly, receiving a momentary glare from the Blessed Mother. He shut up.

She opened her arms and looked up to the heavens. They followed her gaze to the skylight above them. The storm must have passed some time ago, as the stars were out and the dark colored moon was visible, its muted glow casting a silvery light on the skies.

Once again the Blessed Mother's voice boomed through the dome shaped chamber.

"_Ben corba den tenve noh yetnu, Tredo del Kiresmek ban Effurien de'l tengye ert Podondrin!"_

It was then they realized where Arcus Uri was. He was standing in a shallow alcove, partially in darkness. She paused in her incantation and he repeated the words for them in English.

"At the Dawn of the Darkness, we will see the return of the Knights of the Ascended to purify the Master!" he intoned in a grave voice that, though it filled the chamber, seemed to have a lesser quality than the Blessed Mother's.

She continued, stopping every so often so Uri could translate. "Destiny has brought unto us the first of the great Trinity of the Ascended Ones. In their wisdom they have sent to us first the Sword of the Effurien. They have chosen him and tested him and he has called to himself THE BLADE!"

She brought the Sword from a fold in her cloak and held it above her head, eliciting a collective gasp from the hundred or so acolytes witnessing the ceremony. She laid the blade on the alter before Ron.

"The prophecy in the Book of Arkon states that the Knights of the Ascended shall stand with one who has joined their soul to them. The power of the Ascended ones is a cup from which all may drink, but the true nature of that power is in love! The Knights must know pure love in their hearts and have one who holds that pure love for them as well. It is through that love they will have the power to join with the other, the Heart and the Hand of the Ascended, so that they may defeat the False Master and bring about the golden age that Arkon himself prophesied!"

She walked around the alter, oddly without the need of her cane, putting her hands on their shoulders. "Friends. Is it your wish that your souls may be joined so they might know each other for all time?" She asked them in English.

Kim looked at Ron, who had a sort of sheepish smile. She smiled back at him, causing his face to break out in a huge goofy grin. "Yes!" They answered in unison.

The Blessed Mother broke out into an incantation, this time without Uri translating for her. Whether it was because of the nature of the chant or that he did not know it, they did not know. The woman's hands never left their shoulders as the chant rang in their ears. Her voice boomed through the dome, seeming to shake the stone walls around them. The torches burned brighter and brighter until the orange glow turned white.

Everything around them disappeared. Kim was standing now, her hands in Ron's. He was no longer wearing the white shift, but back in his familiar clothing. She looked into his smiling face, seeing his chocolate brown eyes. It was just like her vision of him when they were stranded on the glacier. She was seeing him as he truly was, seeing the real Ron.

As she looked at him she noticed other things. On his head seemed to be a golden crown. It was much like the Monkey Crown, only much more ornate. On one shoulder sat a golden monkey, surrounded in misty blue light. On his other shoulder was the grip of the sword, itself surrounded in soft light, only of pure white.

Ron looked at Kim, understanding what he was seeing as well. All at the same time he could see her with her old mission clothes, in the old white super suit, in her newer black suit, even in the armor they had worn from the Trinity. The vision of her he held onto longest, though, was the one of her in a pale blue dress, her hair pulled up into a ponytail. The hem of the dress was charred and frayed where the Diablo bot had tried blasting her with a disintegration ray.

_She's so strong yet so beautiful!_ He thought. Then he realized – he had seen this in her all along!

_They didn't need anyone to say a strange incantation over them! Their souls were already one!_

Kim looked into his eyes and said with her heart. _I know it too!_

They blinked.

A worn, wrinkled face framed with snowy white hair was between them, smiling brightly. "This is the strongest bond, the one that is forged when it is given freely without the help of old fools like me. It is the only kind that is real, the only kind that has not been forced upon one or the other. All of this, it is only for show. Now stand and face each other." She whispered so that only the two of them could hear.

They followed her direction, taking each others hands. The Blessed Mother held up her hands once more, shouting "BAEL KRORODA HET DORIN! THEIR SOULS HAVE BECOME ONE!" She finished in English, not waiting for Uri to translate."

The assembled acolytes cheered, then slowly began filing out of the chamber. The old woman took their hands and led them away from the alter. She looked Kim right in the eyes, blindness or no. "I think there may be greater reason to hope than I have previously suspected." She smiled broadly, then led them down the passageway they had come in from, finally reaching the door of their quarters. "Rest now. When the morning fully comes I will finish my tale and it will be time for you to begin your journey home." She said the last, bowing low to them as she retreated. The cane appeared from the folds of her clothing as she slowly made her way back.

Kim stared after her for a while, her mouth slightly agape. "Ron, what just happened?"

"Uh, KP, I kind of get the impression…I think, uh…"

"What?"

"I think we just got married!"

* * *

Kim sat on the edge of the sleeping pit, staring into space, trying to process what Ron had said.

_Married!_

There was nothing else she wanted in the world, to be married to Ron, to spend the rest of their lives together…

…_but not like this!_

Despite all of her fierce independence, all of her abilities, all of her spirit, Kim wanted her marriage to be just like the fairy tales. She wanted the fantasy in white, her father leading her down the aisle, Ron there waiting for her at the alter. The prayers said would be in English and Hebrew, not some ancient language of a distant planet!

"I say it doesn't count!" Ron said, his fists balled up.

"What?"

"It doesn't count! If that was some alien wedding thing, it doesn't count! We're not one of them and they have no right to hit us with an…ambush wedding!" He came and sat down beside her, taking her hand. "We are still going to have a real wedding, a wedding that means something to us. All our parents and our friends will be there and we'll repeat our vows in front of Pastor Grayson and Rabbi Katz and _that_ will be a real wedding."

"Sounds like a whole lot more putting on for show." Said a voice from the doorway to their room. The Blessed Mother made her way to a chair and gingerly sat down, facing the two. "By our traditions, the two of you were married long before you set foot on this planet."

"Huh?" Kim said. "Just because we…"

"No, my dear. Well, partially. All of that we just did was for the benefit of my followers. That way they have a sort of visual proof the two of you are what I said. In reality none of it mattered. You two have been joined at the heart far longer than any of them expect, especially for as young as you are! I suspect it may even go back to the first moment the two of you set eyes on each other!"

They exchanged a knowing look. Kim had been a timid, shy little girl up until the moment Ron came into her life. He was a fearful little boy, so afraid of everything that he created a gigantic imaginary friend to protect him, yet there he was, standing up to the bullies harassing her in Pre-K. He gave her the spirit to stand up for herself, she gave him the spirit to be brave. The two alone would have been ordinary people with ordinary problems. Together they had become something amazing.

They knew in their hearts the woman was right.

"Go, have your ceremonies. I'm sure they have as much meaning to the two of you as what I did has to my people. Don't fret it. Besides, the joining of souls is something few ever attempt. It is something beyond mere marriage, beyond even the most true form of love between a man and his wife. The fact you have done this on your own is beyond even that.

"Now, I will once again take my leave of you. Normally, this would be the time, after such a ceremony, the two of you would be expected to consummate the relationship, though I very well suspect that may be redundant at this point." She smiled almost wickedly at the thought. "The sun will be up in two of your hours. Get some rest if you can. I know I will."

She wandered off once more, muttering something about wishing she was seven hundred fifty years younger, leaving two still-confused young people looking at each other, questions still in their eyes.


	20. The Tale of the Trinity

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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* * *

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**The Tale of the Trinity**

* * *

Feeling restless, they didn't stay in their quarters very long this time. No one told them they couldn't, so they put their Flex Armor suits on and started exploring the 'Keep.' It was more of a network of tunnels honeycombing the walls of the Spiron crater, many of them proving to be natural rather than man made, than a keep in the traditional sense. They didn't take long to run out of the inhabited portions. Away from the torchlight that illuminated the areas closest to the entrance, they were forced to rely on flip up lights set into the gauntlets of the suits.

After walking in near darkness for what seemed like an eternity (though it was only about forty five minutes by their chronometers) they heard the sound. It was just the barest hissing sound at first but as they approached it the sound changed into a roar. They emerged from the tunnel into a large chamber. The sound was so loud they had to rely on touch and hand signals to communicate. The source of the sound was obvious. They were in a cavern concealed by one of the massive waterfalls. The air was heavy and damp with atomized moisture but it was the deafening sound that commanded most of their attention in the cave. Kim pointed to her light, then ran a finger across her throat. Ron got it and turned his light off as she did the same.

It took a few minutes, but their eyes started adjusting to the light. It must have been right at dawn outside as the cave entrance glowed with a gray light, illuminating the interior with a dim gray glow. Slowly the light was changing from dull gray to yellow as the sun crept over the rim of the crater. As the light grew, they could see the three shapes resting on the cavern floor.

It was still to dark to see details, so Kim reignited her wrist lights, casting her beam at the nearest object. Ron yelped as recognition hit him.

Parked on their metal landing skids were three of the bat-winged fighter planes that had shot them down over Greenland!

"KP!" Ron hissed almost in her ear, pointing at the tunnel they had just emerged from. Flickering orange light played over the walls. Somebody was approaching, probably lighting their way with torches or lanterns. Kim doused her light and pulled Ron toward a low series of boulders just at the swinging lantern came into view. A lone figure was making his way into the cavern walking casually like he knew the way. The light was held too low to make out his face but it appeared to be a man, and a heavy set one at that.

He walked right up to the closest fighter, mounting the short ladder to the cockpit. As he stood on the flat section around the clear canopy it started to rise. Before stepping into the cockpit he raised his arms and chanted something they could not make out. The waterfall turned hazy green, throwing a strange light on the whole chamber, though that was not the most amazing thing about the spell he had cast. The moment the green light fully covered the mouth of the cavern, all sound seemed to stop except for an occasional drip as the moisture condensed on the ceiling and walls. He climbed into the seat, reaching for the control panel. He adjusted some controls and started speaking Arkonian into an oxygen mask.

"Yael corba ten yetna credo noh vael. Gen toba no Kiresmek dael Tragda. Beyada den Possible ban deo Stoppable."

Ron's eyes narrowed, not so much at the mention of their names, but as he recognized the voice.

They had seen absolutely no technology whatsoever back at the keep. Whoever he was speaking to was very likely elsewhere. Probably a force on their way to the keep to capture them and either take or disable their ship. They were betrayed!

"Uri!" Ron whispered through clenched teeth. "He just said something about a sword and mentioned our names."

"I caught the name part. Are you sure about the sword?"

"I've heard the word Tragda enough to know it has something to do with my blade."

"That's it, then. We've got to get out of here and back to the Trinity. We've got all the answers we are going to now."

As quietly as they could in the now-silent cave they made their way back to the tunnel entrance, using debris for cover as much as possible. They were plunged into complete darkness once they got fully inside, forcing them to feel their way along the wall. Once they were around the first bend their lights flared back to life as they broke into a fast jog. Their hearts leapt into their throats as the roar of the waterfall resumed, seemingly louder than before. That meant either Uri had completed his call or the spell itself had run its course. They quickened their pace to a dead run.

Naturally, they made a wrong turn somewhere back in the catacombs.

"I knew we made more turns than that." Kim said, worry evident in her voice.

"Come on, we just have to backtrack until we find something we recognize." Ron said, turning back.

"What if we run into Uri. He'll know his way around better than us and if we're lost…"

"You are only lost when you stop looking for the way." A voice half laughed, half cackled behind them. They spun around to see the Blessed Mother standing behind them. She, of course, needed no lantern and she moved so softly they had not heard her approach.

"Amazing, I would have thought the two of you would be taking every opportunity to spend as much time alone as possible." She chuckled at the thought of the two youngsters together.

"There's a right time and place." Kim said, exchanging a look with Ron.

"I would think that right here at dawn you would either be locked in each other's arms or at the very least trying to get as much sleep as you can."

"I think we've had enough sleep the last week to last us the next three weeks." Kim said. The more she thought about it, the more that seemed to be the case, though not all the time was spent actually sleeping!"

"Yes, yes. Your bodies are used to the long days here in my home. Everything about your world is rush rush rush since your days are so short. Poor Uri hasn't been right since he got back after spending a few weeks on your world."

"Um, about that Uri guy." Ron broke in.

Kim hastily described their discovery of the hidden fighter planes.

"Oh, those things?" The Blessed Mother waved dismissively. "I knew they were there. We stole them from a strike base near Mannoc Keep, that's south of here if you didn't know, a while back. We even sent one of them to your world along with Uri and a hastily trained pilot to aid in his search for you."

Kim gasped, glancing once more at Ron, who met her eyes, realizing the same thing she had.

"Lady, I think your boy Uri has been playing you." He started. "Right before our ship kidnapped us and brought us here, one of those bat-planes tried to kill us!"

"Impossible!" she rasped. "Uri would not dare!"

"Then who was he calling on the radio?" Kim asked, her hands going to her hips.

The old woman looked confused, having no explanation for that. "It just cannot be. Uri is one of the most devout among us. He utterly detests the way our people are turning their backs on the Old Ways and are embracing the sciences. He would never willingly serve them!"

"Like it or not, some how, some way it looks like he's turned against you. Maybe somebody offered him something he just couldn't turn down."

She looked as if she were considering something, then her blind eyes went wide with shock. "Arkon's bones! So that is how the old fool was able to pass the trials after so many failures!" Grabbing Kim's hand she pulled them back the way they had come. "We must act quickly. You will have to return to your ship and leave at once. There is so much you needed to know, I had hoped to have you stay at least one of your weeks so I could properly teach you on your powers and your roles. Now, listen carefully, I must tell you all you need to know in the next short while."

They knew their progress would be relatively slow, but the also figured she knew every little nook, every shortcut in the network of passages. Still, she could only hobble so fast, though she seemed to be dragging Kim along with her.

"Eight hundred years ago our world was torn apart by feuding local warlords. Eventually the strongest among them were able to consolidate their power, intent on forcing our spiritual leaders to name one of them as Master of us all.

"Originally the Council of Arcuses would choose one of their own to be leader, but over the centuries they became weak and complacent. Only a few, such as the great Arcus Oray had the strength and the knowledge to become one of the ageless ones, as the Old Ways dictated the Podondrin must be. The warlords were not content with that, planning to gain power through strength of arms.

"Oray was powerful in his own right, possibly as powerful as the Great Arkon himself, but he was preoccupied with the notion that ancient demons from Arkon's time had returned to the world, unleashing their evil upon it. Because of this and for reasons known only to him, he refused to be called to take up the mantle of Podondrin. However, using the return of these demons as a pretext, he called for the first choosing in three hundred years.

"During that time a man, who was once considered a great hero by his people, assumed his hereditary position as the Prefect of the ancient capitol city of Daganshire. Using his newfound power, Tanith Moondagan assembled an army and set out to conquer the entire continent of Dagan. Now, Dagan is itself an island, though so huge it is considered a land unto itself. It is much the same shape and size as the southern island continent of your world. He almost rolled right over the entire island, though an army from this land was able to stop him for a time."

"Only for a short time?" Kim prompted.

"Yes. Something happened. Lord Moondagan's army should have been crushed, sending him back to his city with his tail between his legs or worse. Instead his army was able to stop the northern Host cold. Then he once again swept through the lands, taking the whole of the island for himself. Some say he called upon dark powers, but I know the truth of it. He had a strange outlander in his army, one who spoke strangely but knew the arts of war. By the time Oray called for the new choosing, Moondagan was in complete control of Dagan, and with it, the Master's Palace in Daganshire.

"The choosing was not going as anyone had hoped. It became clear that Oray himself was going to be forced to become the Podondrin. That is when Moondagan did the unthinkable. Somehow he had Oray murdered, then he brought his army into the city. None but the Podondrin himself is allowed to bring any force inside the walls save to repel and invader. There were none to resist him and he captured the Palace, going before the Council to demand he be made Podondrin. His arrogance was so great he was already wearing the armor and mask of the last Master.

"He forced the council to accept him as the new Master, demonstrating to them that he had his own great power. At first, some of them were scared he had communed with one of the demons Oray had warned of, but they had a series of tests they could do, proving he wielded the proper powers, as they had been laid out in the _Book of Arkon_. Some still claimed it was because of a demon, others said it was his mysterious general, a man named Arcus Nayeel who was rumored to be a powerful wizard in his own right, but the man simply vanished on the day of choosing, never to be seen again. What mattered is we had a new Master!"

"So this dude Moondagan basically took over the world?" Ron asked.

"He not only took over, he enslaved thousands with his power. It was soon clear that we not only had a new overlord, but he was a servant of darkness! What should have been a golden age turned into one of gloom."

"What has this got to do with Ron?" Kim asked.

"I'm getting to that. First I must tell you of the Great Arkon. He was the first great wizard to tap into the power of the Effurien. He did so in order to wage a war against a clan of powerful demons. In doing so, he discovered the power was too great for one man alone to wield for long so he split it into three aspects, mirroring what he knew about the Effurien itself. Two of his greater followers, along with Arkon himself, became the first Trinity. They were the Sword, the Hand and the Heart of the Effurien. Now, sometimes the Heart is referred to as the Wisdom. That all depends on who you are talking to. Heart is the older, more proper term.

"After the war, he gave the powers back to the Effurien, knowing they were too great without a great need. He set down all he knew of it, as well as all of his demon lore, in a great grimoire known as the _Book of Arkon_. Inside was the prophecy that a new Trinity would arise at the time of greatest need. You probably remember earlier this morning the words I began the ceremony with; 'At the dawn of the darkness we will see the return of the knights of the ascended to purify the Master.' I suspect it may be because there is now danger to your world as well as this one that led to you being chosen. Then too it may be the power you already have, this _Tai Xing Pek Kwar_. It may somehow be related to the Effurien or perhaps the two mystical powers may simply attract each other."

"Then what does the sword do?" Ron patted the grip of the weapon at his waist.

She laughed. "It does what any sword does! It cuts, it stabs, it blocks!" She smiled broadly, knowing such a simple explanation just wouldn't do. "Alright. This particular sword does two things beyond that. It is first a trigger, though something else served that purpose with you. It would have awakened your power if it had not already been done. Secondly it is a focal point. You can concentrate on it when you need to access your powers. Beyond that, it's just another blade, albeit a very well made one."

"You mean all this stuff about people searching for it has been for nothing?" He was incredulous, figuring it was some great and powerful weapon.

She stopped and faced him. "No, boy! You are the one they were all looking for! They didn't care about an old relic somebody once in the distant past created for those like you to bear. They either wanted you so they could set you on the path as I have or to prevent you from ever meeting the rest of the Trinity." She looked at Kim a moment before turning back to Ron. "Half of that job is already done. All that remains is the third!"

She started walking once more, oddly carrying her cane as if she no longer needed to use it. Kim thought it strange how one minute she seemed frail and old, the nest she seemed, well, powerful as a force of nature. Something she knew from working with her mother tickled her mind.

They were now back in the dryer, better lit tunnels of the keep itself. She stopped them at a seemingly innocuous part of the wall and despite it being a horrible cliché, she pulled a torch bracket, revealing a hidden doorway.

"Go, now! This passage will lead back to the face of the Keep. Take your sky ship and journey back to your home. I must now lead my people away from this place before those summoned by Uri arrive!"

"What about Uri himself?" Kim asked, worried what might become of the Blessed Mother's people. None of them seemed to be fighters.

"Hah, don't worry yourself about that whelp! If he shows his face to me again It will be the last time. He may be an Arcus, but my power is far beyond that!"

She pulled a curved, black object from the folds of her robes. "Here, boy. My handmaid constructed this for you at my direction. Now you can carry that sword of yours properly on your back and not naked on your belt. I am surprised you have not yet severed your belt and dropped your trousers."

Kim giggled slightly, earning a scowl from her fiancé. He carefully pulled the sword from its sling and slipped it into the leather scabbard. The fit was absolutely perfect. He then used the attached sling to fasten it to his back, the grip sticking up over his left shoulder.

"May the Effurien keep you and those who will one day come after you. You are the hope of two worlds!" She embraced both of them before producing her cane once more, shuffling down the hallway.

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The tunnel was smooth, straight and well made but it was obvious it had not been traversed in many, many years. Those years of neglect made it impossible to move at anything more than a brisk jog. That, at least, was until they started having to push through cobwebs. The thought of spiders made her drop back to check on Ron.

"You okay?"

"Concentrating, KP" He said with a slightly quaking voice. "I'm telling myself there are no tunnel spiders in her, just old webs. Just old webs." He added in a whisper.

She squeezed his hand. The last thing they needed right now was for him to start freaking out at the thought of little tiny spiders crawling all over his body.

Now, if she would just stop thinking about the giant spider scene in _The Lord of the Rings_! Ron might stress out over the little tiny flickable bugs, but big bugs? Big_ big_ bugs?

_No! Not going to think about them! I know everyone has a weakness, but these webs were made by normal little spiders!_

_You quit thinking about big spiders and I'll quit thinking about the little ones! _She heard in her head, as if she could hear exactly what Ron was thinking. Smiling, she pressed on, a little more at ease. At least whatever creature had spun the silken nets had long since moved on, possibly having its fill of cave bugs and other small creatures. No giant arachnids rose to block their path and Ron, bless his heart, never went into hysterics with one or two of the creatures crawling on him.

The tunnel ended at a wooden door with daylight peaking through the cracks. It took both of them to budge it as the old hinges were so rusty they finally cracked and crumbled away. The door slowly swung outwards, ripping some of the verdant moss away before falling with a clatter to the level below. They were about fifty feet above the old false front of the fortress. There was a stairway of sorts, but it was so steep it was better to think of it as a ladder. It led down to the parapets, themselves some twenty feet off the ground. Sitting just beyond the crumbling outer wall of the compound was their ship!

BEEP-BEEP-DE-BEEP!

The sound of the Kimmunicator for the first time in days was almost jarring.

"Go, Trin!" Kim shouted over the din of the multiple waterfalls.

"Kim, you're about to have company!"

"We know. We're in a doorway about fifty feet above you. Can you see us?"

"I've got your locaters on my scanners now. Want me to warm up the engines?"

"Please and thank you! We're going home!"

"Roger that! We can take off as soon as you're aboard. On another note, I'm reading a transport and two fighter planes inboard, ETA in five minutes."

"Got it! Kim out!"

Ron was already picking his way down the steps, having a hard go of it without any of their usual climbing gear. "I want to know who put these suits together without a grappler!" Ron shouted over the din. Once to the parapets, they were able to scramble down the sloping walls of the crater itself.

Instantly they knew they had taken too much time climbing down.

Fanned out in front of them were at least twenty men in blue and gray uniforms. Their faces were hidden behind the faceplates of their helmets. Each of them was carrying a long, pole like weapon with a glowing end. They stood between them and the _Trinity_.

"You and that pathetic old fool think you could get away!" Shouted a voice from above. They looked up to see Arcus Uri standing on a high spot of the old wall. He pointed a finger at them and shouted something they could not decipher.

Something ripped its way out of Kim's left cargo pocket. Silver tendrils shot out, wrapping around her arms and legs, pinning them together. With a yelp she fell to the ground, bound by what looked like microfilaments. Attached to the filaments, just at her chest, were the two halves of the device that had once enslaved their ship.

"Kim!" Ron shouted as the men advanced on them.

_

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A/N - it may be Saturday before I get another chapter up with the the site being down for most of Friday. Yes, I know, I'm evil posting another cliffie!_

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	21. Escape from Arkonia

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Chapter 20: Escape from Arkonia**

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Fanned out in front of them were at least twenty large men in blue and gray uniforms. Their faces were hidden behind the faceplates of their helmets. Each of them was carrying a long, pole like weapon with a glowing end. They stood between them and the _Trinity_.

The man closest to Ron lowered his staff and fired, blue light lancing from its tip. The beam impacted the ground where he had just been with a thump. There was a whooshing sounds as a silvery blur flashed by the befuddled soldier. The glowing tip lay harmlessly at his feet, the rest of the staff in two parts, one in each hand.

Ron landed right in front of the next man, his sword held high, ready to strike or defend. The soldier brought the business end of his weapon to bear only to have the back edge of the sword catch it, wrenching it from his hands. The back end of the staff spun around in Ron's free hand, catching him on the chin and spinning him into the ground, unconscious. Apparently the helmets didn't account for much!

Dropping to the ground Ron spun the staff full length in a wide arc, knocking two more men to the ground, barely avoiding another blue blast that instead slammed into another man, knocking him down, stunned.

That told Ron what he wanted to know. He leveled his staff and touched the firing stud three times in rapid succession, taking down the same number of men. The beams were non-lethal, meaning the soldiers meant to take them alive!

Uri could not believe his eyes. Even with the girl immobilized her young lover was making a fool out of professional soldiers! He let out an oddly familiar cry as he leaped from his vantage point, landing in a fighting stance. With a motion of his hand, he made the remaining soldiers fall back.

"Troublesome child!" He shouted, a bluish haze forming around his eyes and hands.

"Dude, I think you've got something that doesn't belong to you!" Ron could feel his own Mystical Monkey Power growing within him.

"It belongs to me now! The power that doesn't belong is what you have, outlander! No Terran dog should posses the power of the _T'Dragma ban Tragda Sur_!" Uri growled back.

_Two soldiers, behind you!_ A voice in his head told him. He didn't take time to ponder the warning, he simply acted. He dropped into a one handed handstand, sweeping out his feet, connecting with the closest soldier's knee, sending him into the second man. Both of them crashed to the ground, each receiving a blast from Ron's stun stick.

Uri chose that moment to charge. Ron caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, bringing the butt end of his staff up toward the attacking wizard's chin. With fluid grace that belied his apparent years he twisted away from the counterattack.

In the same motion Ron discarded the sword, tossing it behind him so he could concentrate on the less-lethal staff. Kim gasped as the sword jammed into the ground mere inches away from her. She was about to shout at Ron for being so careless when she realized it landed exactly where he intended it to!

Ron went after Uri with another spin attack, which the old man dodged by leaping straight into the air. He ducked the follow-through as he landed. Ron yanked back on the staff, letting it slide between his fingers, impacting another soldier who was trying to flank him.

Uri took advantage of the opening and went for Ron's throat. Only a quick twist kept him out of the wizard's clutches but it didn't save him from a savage backhand as the man spun around him.

Dazed, Ron staggered backwards just as two of the soldiers rushed him from the left. _This is so gonna hurt _he thought! Instead, a blur of orange/red gray and black jumped between them. Kim landed in a handstand, executing an inverted split, kicking the men in two directions.

"How's it going, Ronnie?" She asked sweetly, getting back to her feet.

"Pretty good, now that you've got my back!" He grasped the staff with two hands and faced off with Uri once more. "Time to open up a big old can of smack monkey!"

"Bah! You don't even know how to use power!" Uri gloated He thrust his hand forth and barked a series of strange words. A wave of force caught Ron and flung him backwards.

Acting faster than even she thought she could, Kim planted a foot and caught his midsection as he flew by. With all her might she spun him around, sending him right back at his opponent. Ron brought the staff around as if he was going to use it like a long, slender baseball bat, instead changing at the last moment to a bunting maneuver.

Uri could not react quickly enough and caught the blow full on the chin, forcing him back into the wall. He flailed desperately as Ron piled on top of him, carrying them both crashing to the ground.

Ron gulped as a vise-like hand clamped around his throat.

"Child of a lame _yekkum_!" Uri growled.

"Dude, if you're going to insult me, how about calling me something I can understand!" Ron gagged despite barely being able to breath.

"Understand this!" Uri's hand started glowing as his power started sapping Ron's strength and vitality. A brutal smile spread across his face as he forced him down to the ground, his neck now clamped between both hands. _The child did have the same powers as the monkey man! And that power had been combined with the might of the Effurien! He would have all of that and more! He would take up the ancient sword and defend his world both from ancient fools like the Blessed Mother and from Podondrin himself! Blessed Mother? She was not a blessing, she was a curse! I know what she truly is! I know her secret name! I know who she is the blessed mother of!_

He looked down at his prey. Instead of cowering in weakness and abject fear he was grinning back at his captor. "Dude, you are so busted." Ron said.

Cold steel touched his cheek, causing him to involuntarily look over his shoulder. Standing above him was Kim, holding the Blade of the Effurien at his throat. "Let…him…go!" she growled.

Slowly he let go, backing quickly away from the sword wielding woman. Amazingly, the boy got up, looking down at him with that same ridiculous grin.

"Is that all you've got? Man, that is weak sauce!" Ron gloated.

"How? What? You should not even have the strength to stand!"

Ron just grinned wider. "I could feel what you were trying to do, I could actually see you in my mind trying to pull the power away from me, but the whole time Kim was right there with me, helping me hold on!"

"That's not…it's not…that's impossible!"

"Better go back to English class, dude, cause you forgot to _check her name_!" He pointed both hands at Kim.

"Booyah!" Kim agreed.

Uri looked around him. All twenty of the soldiers lay around, some piled on top of each other. None of them were even so much as groaning.

_Who are these children?_

_No matter! They are still just children and they know nothing of POWER! _He reached inside himself and summoned the Tai Xing Pek Kwar, as well as his own connection to the Effurien his new benefactors had given him.

Nothing happened!

"Oh, dude, remember I said you had something that doesn't belong to you? I think the Mystical Monkey Power agrees with me. See, while you were trying to pull it out of me, the part you stole jumped right out of you!"

"NO!" the older man screamed, leaping up, pulling his nasty knife with the wavy blade. The monkey power may have fled him, but he was still far faster than anyone would have expected for a man of his years. He sprang at Ron, the knife flashing for his throat.

P-CHOW! P-CHOW P-CHOW!

Three staccato blasts erupted from the belly canon of the Trinity. The first smashed into the old wall right where Uri had been a moment before, creating an explosion that blew the old wizard aside. He crumpled to the ground in a rain of shattered rock.

The other blasts ripped into the troop transport that had brought the soldiers, disabling it. Fortunately the damage wasn't severe enough to cause it to explode. It just lay there smoking, never to fly again.

Kim's bracelet chirped.

"We had best get out of here!" Trin shouted over the comm. "Those two fighters are inbound and a dozen more are dropping out of orbit!"

"Got it!" Kim grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him after her. The roar all around them changed slightly in pitch, going from the low rumble of multiple waterfalls to something much higher.

"Kim!" Ron shouted as he tackled her from behind.

Twin beams from high powered pulse lasers impacted the ground around them as the first fighter passed over them on a strafing run. Before the debris could settle he pulled her up, this time dragging her behind him. He could hear the other ship beginning its run. He heard the sound of laser fire.

The fighter exploded as twin beams from Trinity's tail gun blasted it. What was left of it slammed into the ground only yards away from them. There was a sudden rumbling sound, far, far deeper than the sound of the falls. The ground started shaking, the rumbling increasing until something cracked. Their feet went out from under them as the floor of the crater opened up under them, the ground itself falling away. The outer fortress had been undermined by centuries of raging current, only the ancient mortar of the walls was keeping it together. Kim was able to grab an outcropping with one hand, Ron's drag handle on the back of his armor with the other.

They had one last view of Uri as the waters swallowed him. He broke the surface a couple more times before the raging current pulled him into the boiling whirlpool.

Kim wedged her gauntlet into a crack, holding Ron's armor for dear life as rock and muddy water raged around them. His eyes went wide as a crescent of silver and gold fell past them, disappearing from sight.

"The sword!" He screamed.

"Let…it…go…Ron!" Kim strained, trying to keep him from being pulled away by the current. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the first fighter circling around to finish them off.

Trinity was nowhere to be seen.

"Ron, hurry! Climb up me!"

"I…can't…reach!"

"Come on!"

The fighter was bearing down on them. She could imagine the guns firing…

It exploded in the sky as twin beams of light ripped into it.

Moments later Trinity was hovering just over them. The lower ramp was extended and Kim used the last of her strength to throw Ron up onto it. He wrapped his arms around the support and stuck out his leg.

"Grab on!"

Twisting her gauntlet loose she threw herself at him, just grabbing his leg before falling down into the rushing water. He got a handful of her shoulder plate and hauled her up onto the ramp. They half crawled, half stumbled upwards, away from the maelstrom. Trinity waited until they were fully clear of the ramp before retracting it.

"Trin, Go!" Ron shouted, trying to catch his breath.

"Get to an acceleration seat as soon as you can." She said over the speakers.

They didn't have to be told twice. They hauled themselves to their feet, forcing one foot in front of the other. Ron pulled Kim after him as they made their way toward the bridge.

"Ron, grab two buckets from the pantry." Trin said as they cut through the parlor.

"Huh?"

"Trust me." She answered. No understanding, he did so, finding them right where she said they were.

By the time they got to the control center the ship had already rocketed to high altitude. Kim jumped into the pilot's seat, Ron grabbing the one just to the right.

"The fighters are following us into the upper atmosphere." Trin said, her avatar appearing on a secondary monitor.

"Can they follow us into space?" Kim asked.

"Most likely. They dropped into this zone from orbit. I think they are at least extra-atmospheric interceptors."

"Well, floor it!" Ron said, biting his nails with nothing else to do to help.

"I am flooring it. This is as fast as we can go until we clear the upper atmosphere." Outside the blue sky was starting to darken, stars appearing as the reached the edge of space.

_We're going home_ Kim thought!

"The sword!" Ron screamed suddenly. "Kim, we've got to go back for it!"

"No! Ron, it fell into the Spiron! It's gone! Nothing can bring it back now!"

"It can't be lost! I can…I can call it back, just like the Lotus Blade! It'll come back to me, I know it!"

"Ron!' She snapped out of her harness and grabbed both sides of his head. "Ron! The Blessed Mother told you, it's an ordinary sword! The power is in you, not a piece of metal!" She looked into his eyes, her heart breaking as she saw the look of despair in them.

_Ron!_

He blinked once, then twice.

_All we need, all we have ever needed is right here!_

He looked away, then back at her, meeting her eyes.

_Ron, I need you, not the sword._

She hadn't said a word, but he heard it!

"We're going home?" He asked, finally.

"We're going home." She nodded, then pulled him into a fierce hug. He felt the wetness as her tears ran from her face down his neck.

"Okay, guys, those fighters are gaining on me! They're built for atmo flight, so they're going to get the jump on us before I can accelerate!" Trin warned.

"What to we need to do?"

"I need somebody in the tail gun!"

"Trin, we're not going to kill anyone else."

"Well, what do you expect me to do? I'm not a combat ship, they have lasers that can tear right trough my skin!"

"What will happen if you accelerate without clearing the atmosphere?"

"I'll ignite an oxygen trail."

"How dangerous is that?"

"It can knock out some of my sensors."

"How dangerous?" Kim repeated.

"It's nothing I can't live without, if that's what you want to know."

"Do it!"

"Not till you're back in the harness."

Kim hastily jumped back to her seat and snapped the belt in place. There was a moment as the ship accelerated once more, now traveling so fast it was leaving a great plume of flame in the sky. The fighters were left behind, not able to keep up.

"We've got more problems." Trin said as they finally left the atmosphere behind.

"What now?" Ron complained.

"Something big is in orbit. They've locked onto us. Hang on!"

She banked suddenly as a series of missiles shot by them. Whatever the ship in orbit was, it was huge. It looked like an enormous whale, with a great dorsal fin rising near the aft section. Huge tubes extended from the rear, each glowing blue-white. Another salvo of missiles streaked toward them, barely missing as Trinity executed a perfect barrel roll.

"I think it's coming about!" Kim said, watching the tactical as they shot by the larger ship.

"Affirmative!"

"KP, they're shooting at us again!"

"Damn." Trinity said.

"Is that an 'oh snap damn' or is that a 'WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!' Damn?" Ron asked, fright evident on his face.

"One of you, take the controls and keep an eye out for those missiles. If we're going to get away I have to concentrate on something really important!"

"Got it" Kim grabbed the main stick, and two handed affair much like on a commercial jet liner. "Okay, Ron, you're my eyes again, keep an eye on the tactical and tell me where they're coming from."

"Bank hard to port!" He shouted as another volley approached.

"To what?"

"Left, Kim, Left."

"Okay!"

He watched as the space-battleship launched more at them. He was thankful they didn't employ lasers, or they would have been roasted by now.

"Trin?" Kim queried.

No answer.

"More coming in at seven o'clock!"

She banked the ship once more.

Finally Trin chimed back in. "Okay folks, make sure your tray table is up and your seats are locked in full acceleration position! Let's see if that old bucket can do this!"

There was a sudden surge as the ship jumped into Hyperspace. This was the mild tug at their guts that Kim had felt when they first left Earth some days before. It was barely there. She risked a glance at the tactical.

The Arkonian battleship had accelerated as well. It was coming after them.

Then the engines really started roaring.

They felt as if they were being stretched as the chronal damping system inverted itself. The ship, for a fleeting moment, expanded until it was present at every point in the universe. Then it was over. They had a feeling as if they were rubber bands released after being stretched too far!

They were alone in the darkness of space. There wasn't even any planets on the tactical any more. Then both of them found out what the buckets were for.

"What…just…happened?" Kim asked, wiping her mouth.

"It's called Tele-warp. We just, for lack of better terms, just teleported from Arkonian space to just over twenty four hours cruising distance to Earth."

"You what? Why didn't you do that before?"

"The device that took over my systems did not have access to the information necessary to execute such a jump. In fact, it did not know I was capable of that."

"Does Wade know?"

"No, he doesn't. Hey, don't look at me like that. A girl has to have _some_ secrets!" she said almost coyly.

Ron looked up from his bucket, still very green around the gills. "I think maybe that should have stayed a secret. Once doing that is enough for the Ronster!"

Kim sat back in her seat, looking at her beloved Ron. Ron the once again Warrior Hero!

_That's it, it's over, we're finally, really going home!_


	22. It's February, You know!

**_The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury_**

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**Chapter 21: It Is February, You Know**

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After a brief but thorough system diagnostic, the X.S.S. Trinity jumped back into Hyperwarp. She wasn't aware of it, but it was the first time she had ever made such a jump without a full crew of experts monitoring everything about her. Still, she thanked her makers for the fully integrated automation system that allowed her to do so.

This time the jump was perfectly normal and almost imperceptible, the sensation much like an express elevator beginning its descent. Ron disposed of the buckets and returned to his seat, looking much better as his stomach settled from their first Telewarp experience.

"Okay, kids." Trin began. Kim was amused how familiar the AI was becoming with them and at the same time was amazed how human-like the ship-mind's personality really was. "In about ten hours we will be close enough to Earth to try intra-warp communications."

"KP phone home!" Ron said in a strange voice. She shot him a mock scowl before melting into a smile. He grinned back wiggling his forefinger like the friendly alien in that old movie.

"Well, not so much phoning home, more like a one-way message. My transmitters can send a signal, but we'll be all the way back to the solar system before we can receive a return message. Wade has upgraded his systems, but they just don't have a transmitter powerful enough yet. Well, they do, but without intra-warp technology it'll take years for the signal to reach us, plus we'd have to drop out of hyperspace to receive it."

"Ten hours." Kim repeated, leaning back in her seat, watching the 'stars' fly by outside. Now, with home in front of them, it was strangely beautiful. Now it wasn't the unknown they were sailing toward. "There's no place like home." She whispered, letting her eyes close for a moment. "At least they'll have a little fore-warning that we're okay."

It didn't take long for the adrenaline to run out and when it did, both of them could feel every muscle, every bruise. Their flex-armor suits were also quite clammy and wet and thoroughly filthy with the silt laden water they had almost been swept away in. Kim felt the lethargy wash over her as her 'combat high' wore off. At least coupled with the relief she felt she could enjoy the feeling of her muscles relaxing, days of tension melting away like a distant memory.

Ron was in much the same boat. He had taken some pretty good shots though he'd given better than he got. She just couldn't quite get over what had happened back there. Yes, Ron had gotten much, much better over the last few years, especially when he was able to use his Mystical Monkey powers along with his hard-learned skills, but what she witnessed back there at the Spiron was beyond even that. Once, long ago he told her to become 'one with the mixer.' Now she finally knew what that really meant. He was truly one with his weapon. It wasn't even just with the sword. He fought with the staff the same way. He was, after all, still Ron and he was much like her, not willing to take a life, even in desperate combat. It was a wise choice to switch to the staff during the fight, throwing the sword right where she could easily cut her way out of her bindings.

Now he was sitting back in the acceleration lounge, his eyes half closed, enjoying the soft leather seat. Her seat was almost insanely comfortable too. It seemed everything about the X.S.S. Trinity was made to be comfortable. It was luxurious, yes, but not in the more opulent sense. Maybe that was the reason it lacked a lot of decoration. Whoever outfitted the ship was more concerned with physical comfort rather than filling the ship with comfortable things. That thought took her back a couple years to a slightly ratty but comfortable house on the Georgia coast.

_Why am I thinking about Neil Argus?_ Yes, this would have been his ship if he had lived. Eventually it would belong to his daughter. Quite an inheritance, if you thought about it, though it would probably have been infinitely better for that sweet little girl to have actually known her father.

Half awake and half asleep she mused about things that may or may not matter, things like the way Neil's last name sounded so much like the Arkonian title for a wizard. Things like this ancient general the Blessed Mother had mentioned, whose name also sounded much like Neil. Arcus Nayeel? What a freaky coincidence. Then her mind drifted back to her battle with Adreina Lynn, the one woman who could make the word 'freaky' sound like nails on chalkboard. Thoughts of a lost friend drifted away, replaced by more pleasant memories. Memories of her victories, of their victories, all that she had shared with Ron. Ron, the man she now shared a soul with.

She almost fell completely asleep when Trin asked, "Comfy?"

Kim's eyes snapped open to behold Trin's computer generated face on the monitor trying its best to convey unseen hands on virtual hips.

"Just ferociously tired." Kim said, tilting her head back and letting her eyes close once more.

"Well, I guess then I won't mind all the muddy water you're letting soak into the leather upholstery." It instantly dawned on her that Trin took pride in herself and she was in the process of making a mess.

"Oh! Sorry." She said with a sheepish half smile. Kim had to admit, too, that wet flex-armor was really not the most comfortable thing in the world, despite sitting on overstuffed leather with computer controlled lumbar and back support. It was just her body overriding one discomfort with the desire to rest. She started to get up, realizing how her body was protesting. Both of her shoulders felt as if they had been almost ripped out of their sockets. Well of course they did! It took everything she had to hold onto Ron with one hand and keep from being swept away herself with the other. Still, she gritted her teeth and got to her feet.

"Come on, Ron."

"Aw, Mom! It's Sunday, let me sleep a little longer." He never once opened his eyes.

"Up and at 'em Mr. Stoppable" She grabbed his still-gloved hand and tugged, sending fresh pain lancing into her arms. "You owe me a good shoulder rub."

"Man, I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"That's just the aftereffects of to much adrenaline. Let's go get out of these wet things and into something more comfortable. Then we can crash for a while!"

"Mmmm, slipping into something more comfortable." Ron said dreamily. She thought for a moment he still hadn't woken completely up, then she caught his expression, a sly grin coupled with half-lidded eyes.

"Ron, you are a bad boy." She grinned at him, though she still blushed.

"The ladies love the bad boys, especially the misunderstood ones."

"Misunderstood my foot." She understood all too well what he meant. Amazing how the male mind works even when the body is so tired it could fall down!

"You do know what today is, don't you?"

"Well, technically it's still Saturday, at least for a couple more hours back home."

"Right…" he prompted.

She tilted her head at him, at first not quite sure what he was getting at. "It's…Oh my! I almost totally forgot!"

The fourteenth of February! They were so wrapped up in their sitch she had almost missed Valentines Day! At the very moment dinner reservations were going to waste.

"Yeah, so did I until just now. Sorry I haven't gotten you anything, but I've been a little too far away from the jewelry store." He finally got up from his seat, though not too quickly. The fight was catching up to him too!

"Well, you can owe me until we get home." She said sweetly. She twisted her ring around so the tiny stone was centered once more. "I've still got the most important piece of jewelry right here!"

"I've still got to convince Dad to free up some of my Naco money so I can buy you a real one."

She smiled lovingly at him. It was the same conversation they had over and over again but she never got tired of it. "That doesn't matter. What counts is what I said when you gave this to me!"

"Too bad that was the very moment the park sprinklers went off." He said, recalling the series of unfortunate events the night he proposed to her.

She got an army under his shoulder, the pain notwithstanding. His arm wrapped around her waist and they slowly made their way back to the stairs supporting each other. She let her head droop on his shoulder for a moment before she decided that wasn't quite as comfortable with a thick shoulder pad sticking up.

At the head of the twin spiral staircase he stopped. "Hey, you think that clothes thing will work on this stuff?" Instead of a conventional washing machine, the Trinity was equipped with small electronic clothes sanitizers that used some unexplained molecular process to perfectly clean without harming the structure of their clothes.

"At the moment, I'm not sure I care." She answered.

That seemed to be the answer he was looking for. Instead of taking them down the stairs, Ron led her aft to the smaller crew cabins. Once inside he pulled down one of the folding benches and sat, unsnapping the multitude of buckles on his boots.

"No sense dragging all this dirty stuff to our rooms then. We can put our clothes in that thing and worry about these suits later."

"Good thinking." She started assisting him with his armor, helping him shrug out of the thick flack vest and pentronium mesh jacket, dumping both on the floor. She wrinkled her nose at the white turtleneck that he normally wore under his sweater.

"That bad, huh?" he was busy with the snaps of her upper armor.

"Not so much the smell, but I don't think that thing will ever be white again."

"Speak for yourself." He smiled, gingerly helping her out of her own jacket.

"Eeeeeyyeewwww." She said, surveying the grey-tan mess of her clothing.

"All the more reason to get out of these things!" He said, wagging his eyebrows.

"Time and place." She said with a smile as she started pulling off her boots. They finished peeling off the armor, throwing the whole silted, dirty mess in a pile.

"Yeah, but isn't this the time _and_ the place?"

"Oh yeah!" She agreed.

"Well, I guess it's standard after-mission procedure." He said, stretching slightly.

"Oh?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Yep, I'll take the spare shower up here and you can have the big one downstairs." A big lopsided grin spread over his face.

She stared at him a moment, and expression of confusion still on her face. Then she realized just how many times he had been chased by her mother to the downstairs shower after missions while she cleaned up their mission clothes. Why on Earth would they have to take separate showers here?

Then it occurred to her. He was playing her!

"Ronnie." She said with stilted sweetness. "How will you rub my sore shoulders then?"

He reached out and gently squeezed her injured joints. "Like this." His big, strong fingers found exactly the right points to chase the ache from the point where her arms met her shoulders.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the touch. "Mmmm, I could get used to that." Leaning in close, her lips met his in a tender kiss. He let go of her shoulder and gently touched her cheeks, leaning closer, his mouth opening slightly against hers. Her hands rested on the top of his upper legs, supporting her slight weight on him.

"Happy Valentines Day." He whispered as they parted just scant centimeters. She slipped onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she kissed him again.

"It is now." She whispered back

"Not exactly our usual Valentine's Day date, is it?" He tilted his head, indicating the small room they were in."

"Yes it is. You're here with me." She breathed in his ear, nuzzling him.

"Uh, why is it we're here in this little room when there's like three other places on this ship to be comfortable in?"

"Cause we're dirty." She leered at him breathlessly, leaning in for another, deeper kiss. Her thumbs slipped into the band of his boxers.

"Yeah, dirty." His hands slipped from her face to her waist, his thumbs emulating her move.

"Got a spankin idea." Kim gripped his waist, pulling herself up against him.

"M'Kay?" he had a feeling he knew where she was going.

"I know a way we can be clean and dirty at the same time." Her hands caressed the small of his back, one of them plunging downwards.

"Badical! I can scratch one more thing off my 'To-Do' list" He leaned over her shoulder and started lightly nibbling her neck.

"Hmmm?" She tilted her head back, enjoying his touch.

"You know, that list you caught me making back when we first started dating."

She pulled back a moment, her cheeks turning crimson. "Oh…my…God! I'd forgotten about that!"

"You're kidding! You didn't speak to me for a week!"

"Well 'doy! I couldn't believe you did that! That was single the dirtiest thing I'd ever seen, and to think you drew that!" She almost couldn't get the last out, she was giggling so hard.

The sensation of Kim giggling while pressed up against him like that was very, very nice.

"It's a shame you made me shred it, then burn the shreds." He started laughing himself.

"Ron! What if somebody found that by accident! You were always losing stuff. Imagine if that got mixed up with a homework assignment, or worse, Daddy got his hands on it."

He shuddered involuntarily, not knowing what would be worse, Barkin seeing it or a trip into deep space just over three years too soon.

"I just thought of something." He said, his hands cupping her backside.

"What's that?"

"Your Dad always said if I did certain things with you, I'd end up in deep space, yet, when we actually did, we were already there!"

She put her head on his shoulder, her whole body shaking as she tried stifling the laughter. "Should we ask Trin to fly by a black hole or two?" She went back to nibbling on his ears as her chuckling subsided. Kim swung her feet back to the floor, pulling Ron up as she stood. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him deeply, molding her body to his. His hands went to her backside again, lifting her a couple inches off the floor so he wouldn't have to lean over so far. (It was also a nice excuse to hold her that way.)

"Come on." She said as she broke away finally. "Let's get this grime off us and fix your 'to-do' list" She took his hand and started leading him out of the small stateroom.

"Booyah!" He shouted as they started down the stairs.

* * *

A/N: A Bon-diggity New Year to everyone! Just in case anyone is wondering, yes, that was a allusion to Ivymae's "Ron's To Do List" over at DeviantArt. I just can't resist references to her badical artwork! If anyone is checking, yes, Valentine's falling on Saturday is correct - considering I use _So the Drama_ as a reference point and their Junior Prom was in 2005!

Peace and Love - S'all good!

* * *


	23. In Conclusion

_**The Trinity Sitch - Book 3: Blade of the Fury** _

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* * *

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**Chapter 22 - In Conclusion**

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* * *

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_I can do anything!_

_I hope!_

Feeling significantly refreshed after what was perhaps the best spa treatment she could ever remember (well, an extended soak in a double-sized garden tub, a serious – and quite competent – rubdown by Ron, A great, hot shower – amazing how great it is when you have instantly heated water that never runs out! - some personal time with her masseur followed by a good long nap) Kim was ready to take on anything.

Anything except for a twenty-fifth century food preparation device!

She should have known better. Considering it was created by a technological culture capable of building weapons that could level a continent from orbit without leaving it a nuclear wasteland and capable of building starships that could zip you to any corner of the cosmos (well, theoretically.) Imagine what they can do to food.

Such technology…in the wrong hands!

First of all, she should have realized a Kitchenaid XTR950 was _not_ a microwave! It was an automated food preparation center, capable of detecting the composition and state of a piece of food and thawing, heating, re-hydrating, dehydrating, cooling or whatever was necessary to prepare it for consumption based upon the tastes of the user. Basically, you put something in it you wanted to eat and told it whether you wanted it cold, warm, hot, moist, dry, whatever!

Putting a twenty-first century Bueno Nacho To-Go frozen Chimirito in it and setting it to high for four minutes was, shall we say, a case of dramatic overkill!

At least this time it chose to explode long before she opened the door.

_It's a ferociously good thing we're fifteen hours from Earth_ she thought as she cleaned the inside of the device out for the third time in a row (she also didn't know about the automatic self-cleaning mechanism!) _At the rate I'm destroying the food we'd starve in a few days! Like this so-called food is edible to begin with!_ She scooped the partly carbonized glop out with her hands, noting the curious dearth of paper towels. Did Wade ever clean up a mess in here?

Flinging the sticky, smelly orange and gray mess into the disposal bin (_who's been taking out the trash anyway?)_ she eyed her other kitchenly nemesis – the auto-sink!

She looked over the counter of the kitchenette at Ron. At least his back was to her and he hadn't seen her destroy three packs of his second favorite food. He now realized the depth and breadth of the entertainment library Trin had recorded in her memory and was in the process of watching cartoons until his eyes burned. For a man who had a barely working knowledge of mathematics he had quickly calculated how much of the three original seasons, the surprise fourth and the triumphant fifth and sixth seasons of his favorite cartoon he could see in the fifteen hours of flight time that remained to them, factoring in the time it would take to send a message home once they were within range. Of course, there were only the episodes that had actually aired, but he was in Mouse Ears Channel heaven right now!

_I wonder how long before he has Wade burn all this to DVD_, she mused.

Frustrated, she pulled two more Chimiritos from the freezer, once again _carefully_ reading the instructions.

"Heat on high 4-5 minutes. Allow one minute to cool before opening." It said on the package. _What am I doing wrong?_

_Just put it in and hit start, KP._

Kim spun around, startled that Ron had snuck up on her so quietly. "Ron, don't do that!"

Yet he wasn't there. He was still piled up on the couch on the far side of the parlor.

"Don't do what, Kim?" he said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

_What the?_

"Ro-on? Did you just tell me how to work this microwave thingy?" she asked, more than a little spooked.

"No, but I was about to, and it's not a microwave. You just put the food in there and hit start. You don't have to tell it to do anything unless you want it to do something special with the food. How's it coming with that Bueno Nacho? I'm starved!"

Still perplexed she took two of the tex-mex wraps and put them in. Ten seconds later it beeped, the food hot, steaming and perfectly ready to eat. The minor victory and the tantalizing smell of their first real meal since the one they had on Arkonia chased away the feeling that something odd had just happened.

_I guess I'm so used to hearing him now I can think in his voice!_

"Hey, wow! You can cook!" He said as she put the plate down on the coffee table. "Why didn't you make yourself some?"

Growling she picked her share up and took a bite. "If you want more you can tear yourself away from the TV long enough to make some, Nacho Boy!" She bit into the Chimirito again, her stomach suddenly rumbling with the notion it was about to be filled.

"What are you watching now, Ron?"

"Oh, same thing I always do."

"The Freedom Leaders?"

"Yup yup!" he said cheerfully.

She remembered trying to watch the show with him once, thinking it was somehow produced as some kind of echo of another universe, as if it was manifesting itself in the imagination of the producers. That notion got disabused really quickly when the fifth season started and the story got bogged down with the main character getting pulled into the past. For a television show produced primarily for children, the story became a muddy mess. That didn't stop Ron from watching it religiously on cable, taping it when he was away from home.

"So, which big important episode is this?" She asked, cradling her chin in boredom.

"Well, this is actually the second one, it's where the twin brothers get their ship shot down over an ice planet and something happens to them that gives them their powers."

"Powers? I thought the guy with the sword got his powers by having bionics?"

"Ah, but that's the thing, KP! He's got this badical sword that makes him the galaxy's best swordsman. He only got the mechanical arms and legs because of frostbite!"

Kim rolled her eyes, thinking about what they could get away with in cartoons! She swallowed another bite, noting she had already consumed most of hers without realizing it. When was the last time they had eaten? In their room on Arkonia? "So, if they got these powers to fight the big bad guy on planet 'Delta' how come they spend most of the first three seasons on some jungle planet fighting heavily armored aliens?"

"I dunno, maybe it's just so they could have the Golden Warrior fight some guys with swords. Kinda stupid if you ask me that a so-called 'warrior race' would run around with swords when the good guys almost all have laser guns."

"Yeah, go figure, sw…" she bit her tongue, almost calling him Sword Boy. She surreptitiously glanced his way but he seemed not to have noticed. Relieved, she leaned over on his shoulder, watching the episode unfold. There was that strange feeling she had whenever she watched the show. The heroes were in their ship, pursued deep into the atmosphere of a frozen planet, the alien fighter forcing them down before crashing into their doomed transport.

She sat up with a start, her eyes wide!

_No! _

"Wow, is that freaky or what?" Ron said, slipping his arm around Kim's back, slipping under the edge of her sweater to reach her skin, careful not to tickle.

"I have to have watched this episode with you at least three times. How come I didn't think of this when we were in Greenland?"

"Geez, I dunno. I didn't think of it either."

Trin popped up in the bottom corner of the screen, careful not to superimpose herself over the action (she'd already had a…conversation…with Ron about that!) "Okay, guys, we are in transmission range now. We can send a message any time you're ready."

Ron sat up straight, taking his hand from Kim's waist and reaching for her free hand. She used her other to snatch the last bite of his Chimirito, popping it into her mouth and chewing.

"Oh, you will rue the day you did that Kimberly Anne Possible!" He said in his best Zorpox voice.

"So not the drama, bad boy." She said as she swallowed the last of it. "Ready?"

He nodded and faced the pickup for the view screen.

* * *

Wade and Dr. Possible were busily laying down the final circuits for what they hoped would provide some answers into what had become of Kim and Ron. They were on course and nearly ready to test their new creation.

The fact they would not know if it really even worked unless there actually was somebody in space to receive it had been pushed to the back of their minds.

The first day after the Trinity blasted away from Earth was spent frantically trying to find a way to get into space and search for them. It wasn't until later the tow of them were able to think rationally and come to the conclusion that they were years away from producing something even one hundredth as fast as the hyper-advanced yacht.

That meant focusing their efforts on something they felt they could accomplish. Wade had a significant working knowledge of how hyperspace worked, in particular how a ship like Trinity was able to accelerate past the speed of light, bending space around it so it could more quickly jump from one point in space to another.

They didn't have an engine capable of doing that yet, but what about a communications signal?

He already had a jump on that, of sorts. The entire schematic for the Trinity's communication system was copied onto the Space Center's mainframe. It was only a matter of figuring out how to copy the technology using their own limited twenty-century know-how. There were microscopic circuits that were more complicated than most computers. They just didn't have the means to duplicate that, at least not yet. By the time they had a working design, a console component that one the ship was the size of a shoe box now utterly filled a modest sized lab at the Center.

"O…kay, Spatial Pattern Buffers are ready to go!" James Possible said as he switched off his mini-plasma soldering iron and pulled off his goggles.

"Trans-warp signal differentiators are ready." Wade responded. "Okay, Dr. Possible, we're as ready as we're going to be." He reached for a wireless keyboard, typing the last of the series of commands that would bring the system to life. Data started shooting back and forth to a series of radio telescopes known as the "Very Large Array." He had to be careful about masking the signal, lest some nosey bureaucrat discovered he was using the array to send a signal into hyperspace. So far only a very few at the Space Center and key personnel at Global Justice knew what they were trying to do.

James pulled a rolling chair up to his console and surveyed the data. "Good, Wade! I'm getting a nice clean return signal!"

Wade's slightly crossed eyes looked up from his monitor at the older scientist. "Uh, Dr. Possible? I haven't sent the test signal yet? I only just now brought the receivers online."

"Then what on Earth are we getting? As far as I know there's only one other transmitter currently in existence that could send out that kind of signal…" James' eyes went wide as he realized just what that meant.

Wade got it too. Not waiting for his hands to type the words, he shouted into the computer pickup, "Main screen turn on!"

The large plasma monitor on the far wall winked to life. Two familiar faces dominated the screen, with a third in a smaller window down at the bottom corner.

"Hi!" Kim said brightly. "If you're getting this Trinity says it's a one-way transmission. We're approximately fifteen hours away from Earth at our current speed and we're on our way home. Both of us are fine. We've been to a planet called Arkonia. We'll explain more about what's happened when we get home and can talk face to face. Trin is sending a data-stream about the planet along with our signal."

James looked questioningly at Wade. "I'm getting all of it." He reassured him.

He wasn't paying attention to Kim any more as gave them a condensed version of what had transpired over the last few days. If this didn't work, there was always the recording he could go back to. He had to hurry, in case the message was short. He already heard the most important part, they were okay. The rest was just secondary information at the moment.

"Hurry, before they finish their message and we lose the signal." James warned.

"Got it!" Wade hit the last command with a flourish. He smiled broadly as all three faces gaped in shock at his unexpected appearance on their own screen.

"Wade?" Kim, Ron and Trin all said in unison.

"Jinx, you both owe me a soda." Kim said to her fiancé and the ship's avatar.

Wade just buffed his nails on his shirt and made a show of admiring his handiwork.

James rolled his chair right into the frame with Wade "Kimmie-cub!" The look of joy on his face was reflected in theirs.

Wade noted the look of hopeful fear in Ron's eyes and patted his shoulder. In a flash a little pink face appeared on his shoulder.

"RUFUS!" Ron screamed in joy as his little buddy waved tiny claws at him.

James was grinning from ear to ear as he pulled out his cell-phone, hitting the speed dial. "Honey? Yes, it's me…yes, it worked, better than we expected!...they're right here…no, they actually called us…they're perfectly fine!"

"Hey Mom!" Kim shouted so her mother could hear her over the cell. James held it up closer to the microphone.

"Hi Kim!" a number of voices chorused back at her. (Yes, Anne Possible had them on speaker phone!)

Tension melted away as they all talked for a few more minutes. There were a couple tense moments as the signal tried to break up, but Wade was able to stabilize it enough to keep the conversation going. Finally he told them he had work to do with Trin that would command most of his attention.

"Wade, Dad, you guys both rock!" Kim said as she signed off.

Almost a week of worry melted slowly away from James' face as the monitor winked off. He looked at a smiling Wade and couldn't help by high-five the boy. "They didn't have starships that would kidnap you and take you halfway across the spiral arm when I was in college!"

Though, if pressed he would have to admit he wished there were!

* * *

The curator of the Tri-City Museum felt a great sense of relief as the hoverjet came to a rest in the deserted parking lot. A few more minutes and the object that was the source of much of his stress would be off his hands.

The ramp of the dark colored, unmarked aircraft lowered to the ground, allowing three men to disembark. Two were huge guards wearing gray body armor over their navy blue Global Justice uniforms. They walked with the wary confidence of consummate professionals, somehow managing to look alert and indifferent at the same time.

The third man was tall and slender, his shoulder length dark hair hanging in waves over his shoulders. Even in the dark of the early morning, his eyes glittered bright blue to the point they were visible even in the diminished light of the few streetlights over the parking lot. They didn't so much glow as their color was so bright it seemed as if they did. He was dressed, not in the usual uniform, but in a crisp Italian suit.

"Agent Gryphen, I am so glad you are finally here to take charge of the relic." He said, reaching to shake the man's hand. The agent regarded the hand as if it were covered in slime, his own hands never unclasping from behind his back. Instead he started walking as if he knew exactly where he was going, trailing the curator and the two guards behind. Several of the museum guards joined the procession.

"You are certain no one outside of your staff is aware you still have it?" he asked in a faintly accented voice.

"Absolutely. As per your instructions we have publicly claimed it was purloined by Lord Monkey Fist's gang, despite the best effort of Team Possible."

"Good." The chiseled jaw agent said as he led them down the corridor toward the vault. "Dismiss your security."

"What now?" He asked, perplexed at the order.

"I said send your security people away. This is for Global Justice ears only." He said, clearly upset at being questioned.

He waved his men off, his concern at the situation growing.

"I want you to tell me again what happened when Stoppable touched the idol."

"Again? I don't know…"

"Look, who do you think set up our little charade? Once we found out Monkey Fist was making a move on it we thought it was the perfect chance for the two of them to come into contact with it."

The curator looked at the man a moment longer, then it dawned on him. Gryphen was the man on the phone! He was the one who wanted both of the young couple to actually touch it.

"Nothing happened when Kim Possible was holding it, though maybe it was because she was still wearing her gloves. When her boyfriend touched it, though, there was a terrific flash of light and we were all thrown about. Oh, by the way, a large number of priceless artifacts were damaged when that happened."

"Your museum will be properly compensated. Now go on."

"Anyway, after the blast of light, he was locked in some kind of trance for a few minutes. When he came out of it he started going on and on about how we needed to destroy the idol."

"And what did you say to that?"

"Well that would be preposterous! It is the property of the government of Japan. We could not possibly entertain the notion of destroying it."

"Good. Fortunately for all of us the Japanese want this thing back and I will be more than happy to turn it over to them." Gryphon said as they reached the vault. Moments later it opened, admitting all four of them.

One of the guards quickly produced a case lined with foam rubber and velvet. With infinite care the curator took the idol from its shelf and placed it in the carefully prepared cut out.

"Your cooperation is greatly appreciated." Gryphen said as he reached into his jacket.

The curator had a moment where he thought the agent might have been reaching for a weapon. Instead he pulled out a tiny communication device and spoke into it. "I have it, be ready to go as soon as we're out."

"Roger that." Came a voice over the tiny device.

He watched the three go. The contemptible thing was finally out of his hair. Well, off his hands he thought as he rubbed his bald head.

Gryphen climbed aboard his craft, holding the case as it lifted into the sky. It wasn't on its way to the secure location known only to the agents of Global Justice. They were headed to a small craft hidden high in the mountains around Middleton. From there, he would return to his real home. Already the other missing piece of the Tempus Simia had been found. A quick trip to Africa and it would be complete!

Gryphen, whose real name was Gryphion clutched the case and chuckled softly. He thought about his mother back home and her schemes. No, she was not the problem.

It was his father, and now the Ageless One who should be the Master was ready to take his rightful place as ruler of Arkonia, and after that, all of Earth as well!

* * *

Somehow being back on the solid ground of the planet Earth had a new and different feeling to it. For the first time ever, they knew that it was, wherever they were on the globe, their home. There was a certain solidity to it they could not quite put their finger on. If they had not been aware they were in deep space, most of the Trinity felt more like being in a fancy hotel room with a strange dearth of windows. Somehow, however, there was some certain subtle difference between artificial gravity and what they knew to be their own world.

It was good to be home!

The got back to Earth far faster than they first thought. With Wade able to monitor the ship from Earth, Trin had the confidence to accelerate to her maximum cruising speed, getting them home in seven hours instead of fifteen. It was nice to be back home in the mid-afternoon rather than late that night as the first assumed.

"Déjà vu much?" Ron asked as Kim drove him home.

"What's that, Ronnie?" He knew Kim was feeling good when she used that form of his name.

"Was it just a week ago you were driving me home and all this started?"

"Wow, you're right. Somehow that feels like it was so much longer."

"Sh,yeah! Though somehow everything that happened in between now seems like a big blur."

They pulled up at his house, the afternoon light starting to fade into dusk. The weird feeling was even greater, knowing his parents would not be home to greet him.

"I wonder why it is they're running off to Denver so much lately." He mused. They had come by the Space Center briefly to see him over the new communication system, but, after all, freaky things like being hauled across the galaxy were nothing new to them. Just another day of the same-old, same-old.

Kim followed him into the house, resigned to the fact she would be saying goodbye to him for the first time in almost a whole week, even if it was just for the night. Hopefully he would be up and ready to head for their classes the next morning.

They crossed the living room and started up the stairs when they realized they were not alone in the house.

Half a dozen black clad Monkey Ninjas sprang at them in a frenzy of fists and monkey calls. As they defended themselves they saw the two lumbering mutant gorillas enter the room, ready to grab them as they dealt with the smaller adversaries.

Ron suddenly scowled, tossing one of the monkeys aside, pointing his finger at the floor and bellowing "STOP!"

In an instant, all of the monkey ninjas dropped to the floor and bowed their heads to Ron. Confused, the Gorillas stopped, scratching their heads at why the little ones obeyed the blonde-haired boy more quickly than they did their usual master.

"So, you do still have your Mystical Monkey Power." Rasped a weak voice.

DNAmy, now known as Gorilla Fist, carried her husband gently into the room.

"I have come to ask of you, Ron Stoppable." He said, gasping for breath. "Even though I am your enemy I…I ask that you give me your Monkey Power so that I may live! What has been done to me was become one with that power and without it I will soon die." Monkey Fist sounded much like he was crying as he asked. Tears were also running down Amy's face as well.

Kim started to open her mouth but Ron just stepped right past her, taking his arch-foe's hand. There was a rush of blue light as the power leapt from him into the English Lord. He then spoke in a voice that all of them knew was not his own.

"The power belongs rightfully to you both. Take it and live, Monkey Warrior, so that you may one day fulfill your destiny."

Ron stumbled backwards, letting go of Monkey Fist's hand. Kim caught him and helped him back to his feet.

"KP, the power, the bit that Uri stole from him, it was riding in me!"

"It's mine! It's actually mine!" Monkey fist was getting visibly better as the blue light played around his body. Where his fur and hair had turned white it was returning to black. Minutes later, their old foe was restored.

He jumped to the open window, the Monkey Ninjas jumping after him. "It's mine!" he continued to scream as he disappeared into the twilight.

Ron found himself swept up into a crushing hug. "I don't know how to thank you!" Amy Hall-Fiske said as she squeezed the young man. As quickly as she had grabbed him, she let him go, lumbering after her husband, trailed by the two great apes.

Kim just scratched her head. "What just happened?"

"Uh, well, KP, I think I just gave one of the world's major super-villains his powers back." He continued staring after them as they faded from view.

* * *

Kim rolled over in her bed, trying as best she could to will herself to sleep, all the while knowing that was the absolute worst way to go about doing it. She tried to keep her eyes closed, but it just wasn't working. She would think they were closed then realize they were wide open. Tired as she was, sleep just would not come. The numbers on her alarm clock stared at her, glowing orange-red in the darkened room, as if they were mocking her and her inability to slip into the arms of morpheus.

There wasn't any question what was wrong. Her bed was more than large enough for her small frame but it seemed so small now…

…and so empty!

She knew in her heart that, just a few blocks away, Ron was doing the same thing in his tiny single bed.

It seemed so ferociously cold! She was wearing her usual sleepwear, along with an old sweatshirt and socks and had put an extra blanket on the bed. The room was not really cold either, despite the large windows of her loft. The central air system saw to that. It was the fact she was alone, not sharing her warmth with someone else that made it so cold and lonely. She wanted another body curled up to her back, his arm draped across her, a hand wandering over her body as she slept. It wasn't about the more physical acts of intimacy either, it was just about being together, being one at the end of the day, reconnecting, sharing that tender touch.

Frustrated, she sat up in the bed and rubbed her temples. It was then she realized that somebody was in her room, sitting at the foot of her bed. She reached over and switched on her bedside lamp.

"You can't sleep, can you?" Her mother asked softly.

"It's okay, Mom. Just nerves after what we've been through the last few days."

"Nerves, or the fact you already miss being with him?" She smiled knowingly at her daughter.

"Yes, I…" she stopped, blushing brightly enough she thought her mother could see it in the soft light.

"I see." Her mother's smile never wavered. Without saying anything, Kim had told her everything she suspected and both of them knew it. "Kimmie, I'm not going to sit here and lecture you about being too young or anything. Whether or not this was right, only time will tell now. I have a feeling you know where your heart is and if you follow it then you should be good. As far as I am concerned I wouldn't want anyone for you but Ron."

"I just don't get it, Mom. We've spent time together plenty of times before, sometimes more than a week and I've been able to sleep in my own bed just fine. Does this make it so different now?"

"The short answer is yes. The things you've felt for him, even after all these years, are all that more intense now, especially if you two were together for all the right reasons."

"But…the first…we were scared and angry and…afterwards I felt so bad, so wrong."

"Kimmie, I'm not a psychiatrist, but I do have a pretty good handle on how the mind works. If you were feeling all those things at the time, then all you did was amp them up. It wasn't because of you and Ron. Besides, you said the first. Sounds to me like you got past those feelings."

"Ron was so…"

"Oh?" Anne's smile got a bit wider.

"Mom! I was trying to say Ron was so understanding, so sweet about it. He made me feel, well, loved. But there was also the fact I sort of went back on my promise to him."

"You mean how he wanted to wait for your wedding night? Honey, that was sweet, but considering the feelings you two have for each other, I don't think that was a very realistic promise. Your connection to him runs too deep, especially if that woman thinks your souls have been merged. Now, think carefully. Did you break your promise, or did he release you from it?"

"That doesn't count. He's a guy. He says that's what they do." Kim almost laughed, thinking about Ron's playful line.

"I think you don't give him enough credit. If the two of you decided together, then that's fine. That's the way to go about doing things as adults. Look, if you can't get to sleep because you're missing him, why don't you think about why it is you miss him. I think you'll be all right."

"Thanks, Mom." She said as her mother got up and silently made her way down the steps.

She put her head back on the pillow, slowly, carefully replaying all of the recent romantic moments in her mind. The first grain of an idea started forming in her mind.

It had been many years since her mother told her about 'the birds and the bees' but there was one part she had never considered before. A mother bird would eventually push her chicks out of the nest when it was time for them to fly.

Was her mother ready to push? Was it time for her to move on? What would Dad think if she were to move into her own place with Ron?

The thought of their own big bed in their own place filled her mind as she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Yori made her way from her room to the Chamber of the Blade. Upon her completion of the Yamanuchi training Sensei conferred upon her a special honor. Instead of being selected to train new students only as an instructor, she was made the 'Keeper of the Blade.' In effect, she was the one who would care for the special place the Lotus Blade was kept at the school, as well as her other duties training the more advanced students.

The blade itself rested in a cradle of carved wood. Normally a wakizashi of similar design would rest on the lower cradle, but there was none that matched the legendary blade of Toshimiru. She knelt before the blade, brushing a strand of her shoulder length hair out of her face. There, before the blade she let her mind wander to places she would not allow any other place.

She thought of the real master of the blade, the one she had been told time and again would one day come to claim the blade for his own. To what purpose, Sensei had never actually said. She wondered if perhaps it was because he simply did not know or if it was something he was not yet prepared to tell her, if he indeed ever would.

She opened her eyes and gasped. The blade was glowing and floating four feet above its stand…

…and it was changing shape!

Not knowing what else to do, she ran to find Sensei!

* * *

Very few were aware of the true nature of the great waterfall filled crater known as the Spiron of Arkonia. It was no natural feature of the land! It was something else entirely.

When humanity was first learning to use rocks as tools, a race known as the Azarians had lived among the stars. They did not travel in huge ships that pushed their way through space and hyperspace with great engines, instead they built devices that would send them from place to place in an instant.

Seeded among the lanes of space were several of these great gateways. They were in the form of giant rings, some over fifty miles wide. In the center of these great stone rings was a lens. Even today ships could use these great lenses to send themselves to distant points in the cosmos in nearly an instant. It still took some time to travel to these great star gates, and only so many vessels could enter in a given time, but they greatly helped the expansion of humanity.

Only a select few, including the Blessed Mother, knew what the Spiron was actually the first and the greatest of these gates!

Slowly, over the millennia, the planet had gradually reclaimed the great stone ring. Rivers flowed up and over it, covering it with the soils carried down them until they covered almost all of the works of the ancient artifact.

The water than flowed into the crater never filled it. Instead it swirled and boiled in a great whirlpool, only to disappear into the unknown depths.

Even fewer knew where the water would end up. One such person waited patiently at the banks of the headwaters of the Great Dagan River. He stood just over seven feet tall, not counting the great spikes on his helmeted head. His gloved hands were clasped behind his back, inside his black cloak.

One of his slaves was slowly sputtering out of the river. Above them swirled the sparkling doorway that the water poured from. Somehow in the process of traveling through the gate and returning to the world, the water had been made pure. It had been this way for so long that the biosphere of Arkonia had come to depend on the arraignment.

The slave, a thin, blonde man fresh from the cloning center, finally made his way to shore, carrying a long, thin burden carefully in his arms. As he reached the feet of his master he fell to the ground, prostrating himself, holding the prize aloft.

Podondrin, the Master of Arkonia took the sword from the clone's hand and studied it. "Well done, slave. You shall be rewarded."

He got up and without looking at the Master he went and stood with his companion, another slave with short red hair. She bore many bruises where her handlers were still trying to contain her spirit. Why the Master tolerated her, many of them did not know.

None of them were close enough to see the smile through the mouth-slits of the helmet.

* * *

And so comes to and end Book 3. The saga will continue soon in _Heart of the Fury_, preceded by a new chapter in _What's the Hitch!_

_Here's a taste of "Heart":_

* * *

Sherry's mouth was curled up in rage. Her brown eyes slowly brightened, changing color just as her skin was as she faced him. Her hands were wreathed in green fire as she changed from Sherry Lipsky into Shego.

"Only one man has earned the right to wear that uniform!" She bellowed at the Dark Lord of Arkonia.

He just stood there, laughing, the hollow sound chilling all of them.

With a roar, Shego unleashed the full fury of her power. Fire poured from her hands and arms, enveloping her whole upper torso as she channeled more of it than ever before.

She opened her eyes when she finally let up, expecting to see the creature reduced to so much ash.

Instead, he stood there, laughing at her.

Then he took off his helmet.

Shego turned almost totally white, too shocked even to scream.

* * *

_What does the future hold for Kim and Ron? Why has he been chosen as the Sword of the Effurien? Were they really paying attention to all the Blessed Mother had to say? Who is this mysterious man who has taken the Tempus Simia? How was Neil Argus on Arkonia, Eight Hundred years in the past? What became of him?_

Stay tuned to this site for the continuing saga of The Trinity Sitch

* * *

I want to send out a special thanks to my reviewers:

JPMod, Mattb3671, Zaratan, Momike, Campy, MrDrP, Taechunsa, Captainkodak1, Marky1.0, Acaykath.

And thanks to all the reader who have made this my most successful story to date.

NOT THE END!


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